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HOLIDAY RAMBLES

Winnipeg and Victoria.

—BY—— =

GEORGE BRYCE, LL.D.,

CTLITRT IP ES.

3,-Pruirie and Mountain.

IL.—Lo ! The Poor Indian.

WINNIPEG:

1588.

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l. PRAIRIE AND MOUNTAIN!

PAGE
L A PROSE IDYL OF THE HARVEST TIME IN MANITOBA, 3
IL A DASH THROUGH THE PRAIRIES ON THE CANADIAN PA-
CIFIC RAILWAY. eet bebe ce rece senses ceetnsestensserenerene 8
WL THE ROCKRIES--THE “MOUNTAINS OF SHINING STONES.” ..... 16
Iv. ATTRACTIONS OF ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK, oo... cece cece ee eees 23
. Vv. CLIMBING THE GLACIER AND SEEING THE BEAUTIES OF
THE SELKIRES. » 20.0. coe cece ce cece ee cece cn ee a tenets neeveeeres 32
VI. FROMTHE COLUMBIA AND DOWN THE FRASER TO THE SEA. 39
t
i. LO! THE POOR INDIAN
: I, VISIT TO THE FAMOUS CHIEF PIAPOT, AND VIEW OF OUR IN-
DIAN POLICY . tg hee ede t eens conden tetcee es caceteanteteresseens 47
IL THE RESERVES ON THE CROOKED LAKES OF THE BEAU-
TIFUL QU’APPELLE.: 2.0000... lel ce een ee er ecnace vee pene teeres 54
' T. THE A'SSINIBOINES ON THE HURRICANE.HILLS,. 62
IV. THE CIVILIZED OJIBWAYS OF OKANASE 00.00 coco cccecccccccuencn vee 69
| ; Vv, OUR REFUGEE SIOUK TAKING KINDLY TO THE SOIL, 22.0... IF
| Vi. THRILLING INTERVIEW WITH THE FILE.HILLS INDIANS. ....., 83

lestward, He.

BOUNTIFUL HARVESTS-PROSPERITY FOR THE

' PEOPLE--A PROSE IDYL OF THE
HARVEST TIME.

———

This is the time to journey through our prairies. The
weather is cool, the air is clear and the season is restful.
Manitoba is bursting with-plenty. The hopes of the people
have been realized, and now they are gladly bringing in their
tributes to Ceres. Visitors from abroad are filled with won-
der as from railway trains they look upon the continuous miles
of the -harvested Elysian fields. Old Manitobans declare the
former days have returned, and the late comers admit they
have uever, in any land, seen such abundance. Letters from
the east but serve to increase the wonder of the prairie dwel-

lers, for they tell that few otker parts of the continent have

had such plenty. The westbound traveller on the Canadian
Pacific Railway is first surprised at the magnitude of the

PORTAGE LA PRATRIE HARVEST.

Year after year the Portage plains have been yielding their
abundanee. The early Canadian farmers, nearly twenty years
ago, were attracted here. Many of them were good farmers
from Ontario, and knew how to give our land an opportunity,
for while our Province rejoices in affording a home for the
poor man, yet the broken down tradesmen and unsuccessful
merchants who have taken to farming on the prairies have, at
any rate in the early years of their apprenticeship, made poor
work of it and not done our soil or climate justice. Suaccess-
ful werk for years has made the Portage la Prairie farmers
well-to-do, and brought the land into a good state of cultiva-
tion. Though the prairie farmer is free from the toil of the
Ontario pioneer, of having to level the forest, yet he must pay
-tribute to the genius of tuil by working off the wildness and
rawness,of the prairie soil before he can lay it under full con-
tribution. No doubt the well tilled acres of the Portage plains
are favored by the salubrious climate, caused by the nearness

24

—4—

ef Lake Manitoba. which moderates the temperature along
their northern side. As mile after mile of wheat in stook, ur
much of it in stack, is passed, one is thrown into the humor of
poetry and feels like making a Manitoban “Georgic.” These are
fields in reality. The stooks are so white and unstained by rain,
and as far as the eye can see lines of them extend until they con-
verge into one. Not only the size of the fields, but the crowded
stooks suggest to the Ontario visitor a plenty that quite over-
whelms him. What a grand harvest home the Portage farmer
will have under the September moon as be looks at his shorn
fields of stubble and his numberless stacks of gathered grain.
But hastening west, we have business in the country and are
glad of it, for from the railway line but a poor view of the
prairie is got after all. We go to see the

BRANDON WHEATFIELDS.

We return from Rapid City to Brandon—twenty-five miles by
stage—and the journey is a constant delight. At one point we
draw up for a moment to look at a Seld of wheat in stook, one
hundred and fifty acres in size. That field will yield five
thousand bushels of grain. The writer has never heard the
farmers complain before of having crops too heavy, but this
year this is the ery. The only safety of the country is, the
self-binder. Any one who has seen the army of peasants
needed to attack a grain field in England or Scotland, or even
the number of men required for an old fashioned reaper in
Ontario, looks with surprise at the farmer, with his self-binder,
drawn by three horses and followed by a single man, begin to
harvest with perfect equanimity a field of sixty or eighty acres.
The harvest time, however, will allow no sluggards. One
farmer, a little late with his cutting, explained thata wheel of
his reaper bad broken, and finding by telegraphing to Winni-
peg that the wheel could not be replaced, he was compelled to
purchase at once a new. reaper, costing upwards of $200, for
harvest, like time, waits for no man. Among such scenes one’s
mind rises in indignation against a policy which puts artificial
obstacles in the way of the farmer, either obtaining cheap im-
plements for his work or getting his products to the markets of
the world at reasonable rates. We were much interested in
our first morning ride by the comments on the prairie scene of

. OUR STAGE” PARTY.
It was made up of five persons beside the writer, It was a

—5—.

‘group illustrative of the country. The driver on a western
stage in the hands of Mark Twain or Bret Harte, is a character
of.as much interest as Sir Walter Scotts dwarf or village
natural, but our driver was simply = trans) sonsie-faced young
Seotchman, only three or four montlis out from the land of
cakes. He and his companion beitg-techanics had found
trade dull in their native Glasgow, had heard of far off Mani-
toba, and had come to it. His companion bad made a year’s
engagement with a farmer near Rapid City, and though at
smal] wages he would gain experience in farming, be comfort-
able for the winter and have a little “siller” in the spring. Our
driver was a good, faithful fellow, and we saw a considerable
sum of money handed to him in Rapid City to be delivered in
Brandon. On our journey the conversation turned on Thomas
Carlyle. The young stage driver quoted quite correctly a sen-
tence from “Sartor Resartus,” of which we were speaking.
Such immigrants—and Manitoba has received many of them—
are a splendid material for our young society. Another of our
passengers was an intelligent farmers daughter’ She had
driven twenty-five miles to reach the stage and by eleven
o'clock that morning had completed, at the house of a relative
near Brandon, a journey of fifty miles. When Manitoba
maidenscan get up so early in the morning they are sure to
succeed in life. Another of our party was a prominent mem-
ber of the ;
FARMERS UNION.

He discussed the Red River Valley Railway, and held that
this movement is simply the outcome of the principles laid
down by his much maligned -society.. The farmers are, the
patriots of the country, have no other end to serve than the
good of the country, and haye quickened the provincial con-
science to make our politicians stand up for the right as they
are doing, This country, he maintained, had been. compelled
to fight an unequal battle with other immigration fields, and
it would be much in the interest of all the railways to give
_lower rates of freight, for so the farmers would be able to em-
bark in greater operations and provide more freight. The rest
of the party would not admit that the Farmers’ Union had had
all the patriotism of the Province, but yet were not very well
able to answer his arguments. We all agreed that the present
harvest, with its estimated export of tén million bushels, would
be a great boon to the farmers, and assuage many:of their sor-

—i—

rows. Perhaps the most interesting member of our party was

A WELL-BORN LADY, . .

the wife of an Irish gentleman engaged in farming north of
Brandov. This lady is connected “with a family well-known,
both in Canada and Britain, for its literary work. She had
been brought up in Ireland, seen much of the world, had trav-
elled largely on the Continent, and come to settle down ona
prairie farm. And she was so fond of it that she could not
think of going back to the Old Country. She and ber hus-
band had been accustomed to ride over the prairies on horse-
back, but two sweet little children, one of whom accompanied
her on her stage journey, made a more- elaborate mode “of
transport necessary now. She had, with true British pluck,
undertaken the heavy duties of farm life, and yet was alady
of intelligence and cultivation, and, unless the writer is mis-
taken, could with ber imagination and observing power, write
a good book descriptive of prairie life, as-one of her relatives
had done of the backwoods of Canada. Too often we see our
British immigrants living on driblets of money received from
time to time from the Old Country, and> em in con~’_
tempt “remittance farmers.” If is pleasing to see wéll=born
and cultivated men and women coming to engage with pleas-
ure in prairie farming, and able at the same time.to make it
pay. Arrived at Brandon our pleasant party dispersed, and
the writer esconsed himself in a C. P. R. train for the far west,
when

AN EPISODE

of another kind occurred. Certain marriage arrangements

of a friend of the writer in Brandon had been altered by cir-

cumstances, The writer was compelled bodily to leave the

train about’.to start, and matched up town between the de-

termined bridegroom and the equally determined father-in-

law. This made a delay of a day and the cancelling by tele~

graph of certain engagements further west, but refusal ..was

useless. To make kindred hearts happier is, however, always a

~ congenial task. Next morning in the church three hundred of
the youth and beauty of the city gathered for the ceremony,”
and as an old clergyman present remarked, a-good many more ~

than would have turned out toa prayer meeting at nine o'clock

. in the morning: The bountiful harvest is likely to bring on a

, plentiful crop of marriages in the Province, and even a whole-

- . ran al

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c Fe.

sale marriage excursion to Ontario is in favor in the west. At
last we are out of Brandon, and hurried along are soon amidst

"' ‘SHE CROPS OF VIRDEN.

The region about Virden is very attractive. The soil seems
lighter than further east, but there is here a pleasing alternation
of ridge and bluff and prairie lake. The railway belt seems
less settled, for as we go west the land-for a mile on each side
of the railway was, by a mistaken policy, for a time reserved.
But enough is seen, even from the train, to show that the same
plenty as found elsewhere had come hither also. A rather in-
telligent young man became a travelling companion here. He
‘ was a Canadian from Ontario, who had been a number of years
settled in Missouri. His observations were interesting. The
harvest fields were something astounding to him. Accus-
tomed to see Gelds burnt up with drought, the green herbage
of Manitoba, and the full corn in the ear in the abundant
sheaves delighted him. He said he noticed a difference be-
tween} the people of the Northwest and those of the Eastern
Provinces. The people here, said he, are more sprightly and
have much grander ideas than in our older Canadian districts.
There seems to be an air of progress about everything. Jt
will be strange, indeed, if our Missouri visitor does not throw
in his lot with us. One is much pleased to see the improving
appearance of our

MANITOBA TOWNS AND VILLAGES. -

As we draw up in the train at these points the neat churches.
and good school buildings always attract attention. It is true *
these have been hurried on by the several denominations and
local taxpayers without thinking much of the burdens to be
borne. It would give the traveller greater pleasure if he could
know that all these were paid for, but the rich returns of the
fields this year will dq-Something towards paying off these
necessary debts incurred. The merchants, now that they see
the fields in stook, are more courageous, and large business cr-
ders are.being given for the autumn and winter trade. The
outlook for Manitoba is most cheering.. But we must away,
and so on whirling wheels we leave our Province behind, to
rush through the Territories and then over the Rockies to the
Pacific, ioe

*\{festward 3fe.

il.

THE WIDE WESTERN PRAIRIES-COMPAGNONS
DE VOYAGE—ENERGY OF THE C.P.R.

' Leaving fertile Manitoba and its harvest home behind, we
have an opportunity as we go through the territories, of look-
ing at our travelling companions. There is in most companies
a representative of the “lone man” species, who sits greatly
apart, and like frowning Jove from Olympus disdains human
society. That man loses half the joy of life. Like an ocean
voyage, 2 Pullman car journey over the Canadian Pacitic
Railway promotes sociability and, except in the case of the
most confirmed cynics, makes acquaintanceship easy. Dio-
cenes-like, the “lone man” simply wants to be unmolested.
Happiness tv him means that sun, or wind, or umbrellas,-or
parcels, or valises, or railway porters, or romping children, or
fruit sellers, or inquisitive fellow travellers, shall not disturb
him. Our “lone man” was fortunately left behind at Regina,
near which place we understood he had two sons engaged in
the “culchaw” of the soil. Their interesting prairie cabin
would no doubt induce paterfamilias, when he saw it, to draw
still further within his shell. The solitary philosopher soon
became to us all a fading reminiscence.

VARIED SOCIETY.

But as they say in the plays, we must look at the “ persons
represented.” There were two Canadian M. P.’s on pleasure
bent. These were wise men, for unlike the traveller who was
asked whether he was taking his wife with him, and replied
no, he was going for pleasure, they belied this imputation on
the fair sex, by one being accompanied by his wife and the
other by his daughter. A California lady and her daughter,
of good old Virginian stock, were travelling west, taking their
first outing among the Canadians. A gentlemtan from Australia
who had been Commissioner to the American Centennial Exhibi-
tion some years ago, was now returning with his wife and daugh-

—9—

ter from Britain to the land of the Southern Cross. There was a
Chinese missionary and his young wife, of whom more anon.

Two American ladies leaving behind home and kindred, going

to Tokio as teachers to elevate the subjects of the Mikado,
and a British merchant returning to Yokohama from England,
were en route for Japan. A French mademoselle with two
beautifal children in charge, was on her way to Victoria, B.C.;
while a Canadian professor and the writer made up the party
which became best acquainted. There were a few others,
young fellows, who seemed chietly taken up with the beauti-
ful scenery of the “smoking car.” There is so much to be
gained, don't you know, by” travelling abroad, and inhabiting
the “ smoking car.”

- COMFORTS OF THE JOURNEY.

As we whirled along through the plains of Assiniboia our
minds could not but recur to the trav elling of our earlier days
in the country. Then we had long and tedious drives, adven-
tures in crossing swollen streams “without bridges, stopping-
places whose primitive cookery tried the most pervect diges-
tion, and delays that vexed even the very patient. One can
quite sympathize with the Calgary Indian, who, after gazing
for an hour at the engine moving backwards and forwards,
said; ‘‘ Man, who made 1 that—hbig head.” Whatever differences
Manitoba may have with the Canadian Pacific Railway, all
must admit the energy and skill with which the line has been
built and is now worked, Our American cousins, who are ac-
customed to look upon everything Canadian as of second class
character, are foremost in declaring their admiration of the
perfection of working of our great railway. Day after day
the train runs into the stations on the minute; beautiful Pull-
man cars with attentive officials are supplied ; the dining car
provides excellent meals, with all the fruits and delicacies of
the seasun ; and the western plains and mountains may be
crossed without the ear of the most sensitive being shocked
by an angry or profane word. The good from the absence of
liquor through the Territories, notwithstanding the evasion of
the law to some extent by the granting of permits, is seen by
the C. PR. route being free from the scenes of violence which
characterize western American communities. But even the
most delightful scenery, and the most peaceful surroundings,
would be insufficient without the presence of pleasant travel-
ling companions, The list already given shows what a large

— 19 —

tratiic is growing up with China and the Kast, and conversa-
tions with people aléag the line and on the coast show that
this year the volume-of travel is so great that a number of

- the largest hotels must be rebuilt to accommodate the travel-

lers. In the mountains the dining car is not used, but bean-
tiful stations are erected in the midst of the finest scenery.
As in sight of the ice fields of the Selkirks, you sit down in
the Glacier Hotel, built in the form of a Swiss chalet, and find
yourself surrounded by so many cultivated and pleasant
people, you ean quite fancy you are in a tourist's inn in
Switzerland.

THE REAR PLATFORM.

There grows upon us as we go on hour after hour a dispo-
sition to take the world easier. Our powers of sight-seeing
become overtaxed. The little prairie towns we are passing
are very much like each other. Built as many of them are in
the western American style, with the main business street
facing the railway, we recognize familiar names of former Win-
nipeg people, who have obeyed the impulse to go west. But the
most determined of our company, who have the true American
sight-seeing disposition, find their way to the rear platform of
the train, and there on camp-stool, on the steps, or standing
first upon one leg and then on the other, remain hour after

‘hour. The rear platform becomes the habitat of the more

enterprising, and there with story, joke, or remarks upon the
scenery, the time is wiled away. .It becomes the gossip room
of the Pullman. There are some in every company who form
topics of amusement for the rest, and it does us good to have
our follies and foibles taken off. With us the most observed
of all observers was the pair

" ENJOYING THEIR HONEYMOON. ~

There is always a. supreme human interest in the case of
newly married people. Not that they are anxious to be ob-
served, but their very nervousness on the subject makes them
interesting. Our honeymooners were most devoted. Unac-
customed to the ways of enterprising railway porters, our
friend, who was middle aged, had been sixteen years in the
Kast, and had come home to carry back a young wife from the
banks of the Clyde to the flowery land, was induced to pay
$15 extra for the use of the whole section, lest any intruder
might purchase the upper berth and invade his garden of

Hesperides. Not even the vastness of the prairies, the glories
of the snowy peaks, nor the magnificent scenery of the Sel-
kirks could induce the devoted couple to gaze out of the
windows, much less to adventure themselves on the rear plat-
form. Byron’s famous picture of the night before Waterloo,
when “eyes looked love to eyes,” eit, so at least the ladies
of the rear platform declared, could not exceed the devotion
of the newly married pair [It was, however, charitably
hinted that the long journey across the Pacific might wear oif
the glamour and increase the desire for a wider circle of ac-
quaintance, pee .

eer “OUR ARTISTS.

Every well appointed travelling party has a reporter and a
representative of the imitative art. Indeed the photographic
artist is as inevitable a feature of modern civilized life, as the
life insurance agent. Our party had two artists in it, but they
were both amateurs, and as it happened were both of them en
route for Japan. The lady artist was indefatigable. The In-
dians were her chief object of interest. As soun as a railway
station was reached, her camera on its tripod was erected, and
aimed at the groups of natives. But Lo is becoming acquaint-
ed with the arts af the photographer, and whenever the instru-
ment was recognized by the natives it produced as great a
scattering as a Gatling gun would have done. - One highly
ornamented brave demanded a dollar to allow himself to be
taken. The lady artist succeeded best when from behind the
fortification of the car window she got a glimpse of some un-
conscious Indian group. The English merchant from Yoko-
hama had two photographic instruments, so that he might be
called a double barreled operator. One of the machines was
very ingenious. It was so arranged that by looking down
upon the top the image appeared, and in an instant at the will
of the artist, the picture could be taken. The troublesome
“sighting” process of the Jady operator was thus avoided.
The other instrument of the English gentleman was a “de-
tective’s camera.” It was not more than four inches across.
Tt could be placed inside the vest of the operator, the project-
ing nozzle alone appearing. It proved a capital instrument,
for taking the coy and distrustful natives. While the skulk-
ing Indians were avoiding the lady artist they fell an easy
ptey before the unseen detective’s apparatus. Our party had
thus quite an air of business as we took along with us lasting

—12—

impressions of bedecked savages, prairie villages, icy peaks
and mountain torrents. .

THE LOST PASSENGER.

One afternoon as the train was bowling along at good speed
the occupants of the rear platform were thrown into a state
of excitement by what might havé been a tragic accident. A
lost passenger was seen to rise from the railway track in a
confused manner, having fallen off the train. The sympathies
of the ladies were at ouce aroused; the passenger was not
sufficiently disabled to prevent a pursuit of the train, the
eries of the ladies encouraging the chase; but the distance
between the sympathizers and the pursuer steadily increased,
until at length the conductor's aid was obtained, when the
train was stopped. The chasewas now more successfal, and
to the joy of all it was found that the injuries of the passen-
ger—a fine spanie) which had sprung trom the baggage car~
were much less than those of a human being would have been.
One of the inveterate occupants of the rear platform was

A YOUNG LADY RANCHER.

Why shouldn’t strong-minded young ladies of education
and property go into ranching? Young women who can
practice medicine, fill important government positions, and act
as principals of large schools, have certainly executive ability
enough to manage cowboys and wild cattle. Indeed the res-
pect for woman brought out in Bret Harte’s pictures of miners’
life, and those of the adventurous English lady, Miss Bird, on
the western prairies and Rockies would seem to show a peculiar
fitness for succeeding in the * Wild West.” Our young Jady
was voing first with her mother to San Francisco, and then
intended to leave her chaperone behind and venture alone
upon an estate owned by her family on the Pacific coast to
engage in developing it. There was a fine enthusiasm about
our young lady friend, and our party applauded her choice of
thus striking out for herself. Better far thus than bestow her
hand and fortune—especially the latter—on some urworthy
supplant in the.effete Hast. Of course we did not enter on
the other side of the question, of whether a comfortable and
suitable marriage might not be better. That case was not
before us. ;

—1g—”

A LEARNED DISCUSSION,

One evening as the shades were falling, and the scenery be-
came too dim to be distinguished, the two ladies for Japan,
the intelligent wife of the M.P., and the professor fell into a
discussion, which prevailed for an hour or to to the no small
delectation of the company.. The subject of dispute was the
question of the use of the right and left hands. The senior
lady for Japan maintained that every one should be trained
to use right and Jeft hands with equal facility. The professor
held that the right hand was largely for grasping, and the left
for support; that their purposes were different, and to become
ambi-dextral would be of littl advantage. Another of the
party pointed out that the internal organs of the body were
not bilateral, and so the bands would not be of equal power.
The exception of left handedness was next discussed, the greater
utrength of the right side being referred to as the reason for a
person lost on the prairie always going in a circle to the left ;
and so with arguments hot and heavy the evening was spent
till we were all driven to our berths to be up in the morning
early to view the mountains.

THE YOUNG LADY LETTER WRITER.

The young lady just from school was most exemplary in
obtaining materials for her note book to be given in long letters
to friends at home. With hints and suggestions from various
members of the party the note book grew apace. The young
girl just fresh from the dry manuals of history, and full of the
technical geography of the schools, was anxious to obtain the
bald facts of the journey. Our modern education pays too
little attention to the imagination, The former generation
with its Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, and “ Heighho says
Rowiey,” could see the wonderful or the amusing more readily.
The zeal with which our young lady took notes of population,
heights of mountains, degree of gradients and curves and the

like, was worthy 6f all praise. We shall draw on her mate-

rials in describing the

/ THREE PRAIRIE CENTRES

which we passed. These are Regina, Medicine Hat and Cal-
gry. Regina is the official town of the Territories. If you
spy a tatherwell-to-do young man on the street in Regina
and ask your friend his occupation, you will be told that he

.
—1Y4+!

belongs to the Indian office ; if not| to that then to the land
office; if not to that then to the mpunted police; and if that
fails he must be an official of the court. To be a government
official or to cater for that important class is the chief object
of existence in Regina. But this; year Regina has very good
crops in its neighborhood, and “there are several good settle-
ments lying north of it. A beginning was made last year of
a planing and flour mill, and no doubt other industries will be
added. With churches and primary schools Regina is well
supplied, and society is somewhat highly organized, as is |
usually the casé in government towns. |

MEDICINE HAT

is a far more picturesque locality. than Regina’ The great
‘Saskatchewan and its deep cut valley is a new feature as we
travel west on the C.P.R. Itis 2 question as to what use
the great unoccupied region stretching for two hundred miles
east and as far west from Medicine Hat may be put. Its
enormous radius of trade among Indians, miners, explorers
and travellers, gives “ The Hat,” as it is locally called, a con-
siderable amount of business. It is probably true that while
this region is not by any means a desert, as the country in the
same longitude to the south in the United States is, yet the
seantier rainfall and greater elevation will not allow it to
compete with Manitoba as a farming district. It must be said
in justice to the region that. the crops this year are reported
good, and our party saw in the neighborhood of Medicine Hat
tields of grain harvested and presenting a fine appearance.
The fact that here the buffalo roamed freely, and lived on the
nutricious grasses, points to this asa field for stock raising,
though it would seem to the writer better adapted for flocks
of sheep. Sheep runs in Australia and New Zealand in some-
what similar districts prove a source of great wealth. Geo-
logically this region is important, as underlying it and at no
great depth are beds of bituminous coal, which will be of
much value on these treeless plains.

CALGARY.

This is the home of the rancher and the cowboy. One of
our Nova Scotia visitors this summer wrote home that he saw
herds of cattle near Brandon under the care of cowboys. Our

. visitor from the salt water evidently never saw a real cowboy.
He has often been described. We pass him by, only remark-

—is—

ing that Calgary would be dull without him. Calgary is a fine
town. Being the depot for the vast Edmonton country. and
for the Bow River district, it will no doubt continue to pros-
per. Situated on the beautiful, clear river, the Bow, and in
sight of the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, its people natur-
* ally feel themselves though last on the prairies yet not the
least. The buildings of the town promise to be substantial.
It-is the ecclesiastical centre of the great churches of the
country for the far west prairies, and the adjuncts of a higher
civilization are rapidly appearing Our prairie journey has.
for the present ended. People tell us that dwellers on the
plains are in all countries spiritless and common-place ; not so
when they are under the shadow of such magnificent moun-
tains as the Rockies.

“\j/estward Aho. -

TIT.
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS-SHINING PEAKS~
SPLENDID SCENERY--COMFORT AND
SAFETY. ‘

How is it best to see the Mountains? is the question many
.an anxious traveller to the Rockies asks. For through pas-

sengers there is no choice, as they rush up the valley of
the Bow river at night to awaken in the midst of Alpine
glories. But if possible the journey should be broken at
Gleichen or Calgary, and then taken up in the day time by
mixed train. The point of view, the state of the weather, and
the humor of the traveller will have much to do with his im-

pression ever after.

FIRST VIEW.

On a former visit the writer had his first view of the Rockies,
and the picture is ineffaceable. An enthusiastic party of us
had disembarked at Calgary, and determined to drive up the
valley, but the weather was tantalizing A bank of grey cloud
hid before us what we knew must be the Mountains. But up
and down the sides of the foot-hills—the Canadian Piedmont—
the willing ponies carried the party at good speed. Forty
miles of“a journey along the banks of the Bow river seemed
to bring the Mountains no nearer. Still the sombre sky re-
fused to give up its secret. The party rested at night, and in
the morning in a drizzling rain journeyed up the pass, It
was a trial of faith, At noun a halt was called on the banks
of the stream on which stood the old Bow River Fort of the
fur traders. Luncheon over, the journey was resumed. From
Gleichen, or the Blackfoot Crossing as we then knew it, where
a fine view of the Rockies is obtained in ‘good weather, one
hundred and thirty miles had been gone and yet no Vision
came. Is there to be a total disappointment? Surely the
oracle will speak. Suddenly as we ascended the banks of
Bow Fort Creek the sky broke, and we were face to face with

—~—17—
“THE MOUNTAINS OF SHINING STONES,”

as the earliest French voyageurs who saw the Rockies called
them. And well they deserve the name. The icy peaks
gleamed in the sun; the rays piercing the still falling rain-
drops, bathed the hillsides in rainbow hues. To the right
stood in majesty, like the walls of a heavenly citadel, the Pal-
liser range of sheer rocks, eight thousand feet high... That
view must be the Rockies to us forever! Every different
standpoint, however, has its advantages. At Calgary when
the weather is favorable, the prospéct of the different peaks,
and the wide-spread vision possible from the outlying station,
gives a panorama very grand indeed. Now for the ascent.
But beware, for the traveller will be very much deceived in
distances.

A ROCKY MOUNTAIN STORY

meets us to give warning on this point. In the early days of
the Canadian Pacilic survey, it is said, a young sprig of no-
bility accompanied the explorers. From the camp at the foot
of the Ruckies the inexperienced traveller started alone one
morning before breakfast to reach the mountains. Not re-
turning for several hours, the adventurous youth was followed
and found on the banks of a narrow stream. He had dis-
robed and was preparing to venture his life in crossing the
shallow creek. Interrupted by the pursuer and asked his
reason, he remarked that “one must be careful in this country;
he had been so mistaken in the distance of the mountains that
there was no telling how wide the stream might be.”

On the visit to the. mountains now being described, the —

writer had taken the through train and had another delightful
sensation in. ~ \ .
WAKING UP IN THE MOUNTAINS,

As the trdin thunders on_up the ever narrowing valley, the

sound increases from .the reverberating walls of mountain.
The Bow river, as the express rushes along its brink, or occa~
Sionally crosses it, seems to have a sharper rush and to dash
over its bed more wildly than down near the prairie. No
doubt its course is steeper, and the clearer and thinner air

sharpens thesound. A short time before the train had passed ;

the river Kananaskis. What a pretty Indian name! How
much better than the Brown, Jones and Robinson names given

— {8 —~

to our new places, and, horribile dictu! even to the stately
mountain peaks! But the “Gap” has been passed and the
first view of the morning is in a mountain amphitheatre. As
the sun lights up to brilliancy the icy peaks before us, we
cannot wonder at the Blackfoot Indian of the plains, as he -
first catches sight of the distant shining peaks of his western
horizon, falling down and worshipping the god of the morn-
ing. Itis a fitting place as we remember Milton’s line for
“Orisons each morning duly paid.”
This is the
ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK.

Tt is the grandest scenery of the Rockies, not now to make
comparisons with the Selkirks or other western ranges. To
the right was passed the “Devil's Head,” a prominent, ugly
landmark, always standing out dark and threatening, however
its companions may at times be clothed with virgin snow. In
the foreground is the Cascade Mountain. It is really very
grand, and is of solid rock. The broken layers and lines of
bedding suggest all sorts of fantastic ideas. That view gives
us a towering citadel ;-yonder are two arches that seem to
lead into a-vast cathedral; one can almost imagine heads of

~*~ “soldiers lining these barricades; beneath that cliff is a dark

,¢ave where robber hordes might find themselves secure; a

- tloud rests upon the summit, but disappears, no doubt in rain
to bathe the brow of the rugged mountain; while directly
before us is the silver thread of water—a dashing cascade of
nearly two thousand feet-—that gives the name to the moun-
tain, At the base of this mountain a halt is called and this is

BANFF,

In a future letter it may be well to describe all the wonders
of the local scenery, the remarkable cave and the magical
waters. Meanwhile the train is away and we are again gazing
at the mountains. There is another of the monarchs of the
range, the famous “Castle Mountain.” We leave the guide
books to quarrel over the question of whether the Bow rifer
is here “dull China blue” or “pea green,” for we are ovér
powered by the grandeur of this terraced, imposing, precipi-
tous king of the crags. Edmburgh Castle, Dambarton Cliff,
tue Keep of Carlisle, Stirling Rock, and Citadel of Quehbee, all
combined bear no comparison to this imposing pile, suggesting
in different views some feature of all the castles named, and

aoe — 19 —.-
piercing the sky upwards of eight thousand six hundred fees

above the sea, The ice fields stretching away to the north |

add sublimity to the scene, as—

-_*All around the white snows glisten .
Where frost and ice and silence reign—
While ages roll away, and they unchanged remain.”

2

SHINING PEAKS,

Bat there are, if not more beautiful scenes, at least grander
heights to view. The air is pure, the herbage is slightly

. Alpine, and we are at dizzy heights, for the railway bed has

reached an elevation of a tew-feet more than a mile above the
sea level; and yet towering far more than another mile above
us stand the mighty sentinels of the continent. The nervous
system of the imaginative traveller reaches fullest tension as
he realizes that he is nearing the summit of the mountains. It
is like sume crisis of our lives—the culminating point for
which we have waited. The traveller having left-Winnipeg
has gone—by easy stages it is true—yet has risen upwards,
more than seventeen-twentieths of a mile. -A balloon ascent
thus high would cause decided dizziness. |To have reached

-the summit at Stephen seems to one ‘to have accomplished

something. It is useless to attempt a description of Mount
Stephen, the -height of which is variously estimated. ‘The
peak of the mountain would seem to be between 13 and 14,-
000 feet above the sea, Far away to the north, one icy peak
after another is seen, until we become dazed looking at their
number and brilliancy. Stephen and Cathedral mountains
are passed and we become depressed with the thought of the
unending mer-de-glace, the “dreary wastes of frozen plain,”
and yet turning to the peaks again, the words of the sweet
singer come to mind ;

. “ And glistening crags in sunlit sk:

' Mid Snowy clouds iled mountain high

Were joys to me.”

THE ‘DESCENT.

One of the excitements of crossing the Rockies is the west-

ern descent. The water now begins torun with us, -But how
unfortunate the name—the Kicking Horse—given to the dash-

ing stream of the glacier, along whose brink w~ are to descend.

We remember the “Mazeppa’ of Palliser’s expedition of thirty
or forty years ago, Dr, Hector, as the origin of the name, but

the name is hateful to us every time it is spoken. To see the
descent from the summit the correct thing to do—provided the
engineer is willing —is to assume a position on the engine, or
on the “cow catcher” better still, and take in the view. The
“ facilis descensus,’ is quite safe, for a strong engine is attached
in rear of the train, and “down brakes” is the engineer's order.
Another assuring provision is the fixing at certain distances,
of safety switches, They are open except when the “ four-
whistles,” the signal—somewhat like a fog horn—is given by
the engine. Should a train escape from the control of the
engineer it will enter the open switch, which runs up the
mountain side, till it stops. Whether this has ever occured we
did not learn.
THE EPICUREANS,

Eleven miles from the summit all, however, are glad to

.stop, for it is the refreshment station—“ Field.” Our lady
-artist declared it “Philistinish” to give up the beauties of

scenery to descend to the baser pleasures of appetite. It was
quite amazing to see the warmth with which the less imagina-

’ tive members of the party, with ‘cravings sharpened by the

shrewd mountain air, replied to the wsthetic lady. The
architecture of the hotel is Swiss, and the traveller is
carried back to Alpine visits; but the freely appointed
table and excellent food are worthy of a city. The fierce
“ Kicking-Horse ” has been gathering volume, and here cuts
out adeep gorge for itself, through which it rushes to join
its waters to the Columbia. The journey resumed, the travel-
lers set in good humor by the table d'hote at Field, are still
able, despite the fears of our lady going to Japan, to enjoy the
scenery, notwithstanding their having stooped to the “lower
pleasures ” of the table.

THE MOUNTAIN RANGES, =~

The descent of the western slope of the Rockies continues
until the brink of one of the great rivers of the Pacific coast

is reached. For practical purposes we may look at the Rockies -

as beginning at Calgary and ending at Donald—the first cross-
ing of the. Columbia. This is a distance of 183 miles. We
are introduced, however, into the heart of. the British Colum-
bian Mountains, for there are the Selkirks and the Gold range
to cross and the great canyon of the-Fraser to descend. What
a mighty upheaval must have taken place when these ranges

e
5

we

i

— 2 —

were formed! Scientific study teaches us that once a great
plain extended from Calgary to Vancouver Island. With

what tremendous earthquakes the continent was shaken when.

in the Tertiary Age our mountain ranges were hurled forth!
a part of the mighty convulsion that rent the earth from
Alaska to Patagonia.

OTHER PASSES.

In days before the railway was built the more favorite
routes for crossing the Rockies were further to the north than
now. Milton and Cheadle in 1862, and Fleming’s “Ocean to
Ocean” party in 1872, crossed to the headwaters of the
Thompson River by the Leather or Yellow Head pass, which
lies west of Edmonton. ‘his pass is claimed to be but 3,700
feet at its highest point, and if so,is_some sixteen hundred
feet lower than our railway pass. Ever far north of the Yel-
low Head pass the mountains may be crossed, and this with
ease. This is by following the course of the Peace_river, by
which so long ago as 1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzié first of
white men, crossed to the Pacific Ocean. The railway pass,

consisting of the “Bow river valley on the east side of the’

mountains and that-of the Kicking-Horse on the west, is but
one of the five more southern passes by which the valley of
the Columbia river is reached—the others being Howse’s, Ver-
million, Kananaskis and Kootanie. These passes were all ex-
plored by Capt. Palliser in his famous expedition of 1857-9.
The hardships and heroism of the men who first penetrated
these mountain vastnesses can be but faintly imagined by us
as we rush through them by rail in a comfortable Pullman.

RIVAL RAILWAYS. 5

A question often asked as we speed along is: How does this
railway compare with the other transcontinental lines? The
writer has not crossed by the Northern or Union Pacific rail-
ways, but the evidence of those: who have is entirely in favor
of the Canadian Pacific. “There are no. Rocky Mountains,”
was the common remark of tourists over the American lines.
' Our visitors speak otherwise. The -majestic mountains and
variety of scenery of the Canadian line are unapproached,

/

and yet this “tourist railway” has hot-been obtained by sacri-
* ficing commercial considerations, for. while our summit is 5,-."

296 feet high, the Northern Pacific’ has two summits to cross,
each 5,500, and the Union and Central Pacific railways reach

a

1

29
their highest point at 8,240 and 6,017 feet respectively. For
splendid views, increasing variety, comfort in travelling and
safety, all American travellers give the Canadian Pacific the
palm.

MOUNTAIN VIEWS.

Why should we go to Scotland to be rapturous over Ben
Lomond and Ben Nevis and the rest, when these but reach to
the foot-hills of our Rockies? Why should we so earnestly
desire to vist the Swiss mountains—majestic as they are—
when Castle Mountain and Stephen and the Cascade await us
on Canadian soil. In the nature of the case, however, the
mass of our people cannot visit the Rockies any more than
they can cross tosee Ben Lomond or gaze upat the Righi or
Matterhorn. Means should-be taken to acquaint our Cana-

_dian people with the beauty and grandeur of our western herit-

age. Fortunately this summer the Mountains have been
visited by a number of Canadian, British and even French
artists, who have carried back many a “ thing of beauty.” The
photographers too are rendering good service by their really
excellent views, taken from every “coigne of vantage.”
Surely as the years go on our publishers will prepare pictorial
volumes of Rocky Mountain scenery, that many more Cana-
dians may feast their eyes on the beautiful.

“\ffestward He.

IV.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK--SNOWSTORM IN
THE MOUNTAINS—THE NEW C.P.R. HOTEL--
THE ANTHRACITE MINE >

No one can fully appreciate their grandeur by hurrying
through the Rockies on 2 railway train. If the traveller
wishes to see the greatest variety of scenery within small
compass, be should lie over at Banff. This is the centre of the

ROCEY MOUNTAINS PARE.

The idea of a national park for the Dominion has grown by
degrees. At first a few miles square were reserved by the
Government, but additions have been made from time to time
on the recommendation of the capable Government Engineer
and Surveyor, Mr. G. A. Stewart, who is resident in the
park. Now, an oblong of twenty-six miles by ten is set
apart, and within these limits’a wondeiful combination of
mountain, lake, river and valley is to be found. But the
grandest sights are valueless if they be inaccessible. It is only

one of a hundred tourists who has perseverance, we may.say-- ~ --

“recklessness enough, to penetrate unexplored jungles, cross un-
bridged streams, or claraber up pathless mountain slopes. By

an annual vote the Dominion Parliament is providing for the —__

COMFORT OF VISITORS

who come to view the park. Excellent macadamized roads, ©

several miles in. length, are found winding through the wooded

valleys. The Bow river, which runs through the south-

western side of the park, and whose every turn is beautiful,
is bridged in a substantial manner. Buildings are in course
of erection at convenient points, and pathways being cut to
points of interest. A conversation with the resident engineer
showed that his tastes are in the main-correct. The roads

avoid angles, and really take nothing from the rustic beauty of *

the park. The buildings being erected are mainly after Swiss

:. — 24 —

models, and seem to the Alpine traveller quite in keeping

with the surroundings, while in their construction wood in

unsawn form is largely used for the exteriors. The system of

leasing land is going on largely, and a business street is ap-

pearing, very much after the fashion of our western towns.

It is a question whether all the buildings-put up should not

require the approval of the resident enginéer. Though the

writer visited Banff in the middle of September, the first day
in the park, and it was 4 Sunday, was spent in

A MAGNIFICENT SNOW STORM.

Anyone acquainted with mountain climates knows that a
snow storm may be expected at any time. Indeed in really —
mountainous localities hardly a week in the year is free from
snow fall. “Would it were always summer” is a well known
sentiment, and it was quoted to the writer by a distinguished
English visitor this season, but it is a foolish wish. Mount-
tains are at their best in winter scenery. During our visit
six inches of snow fell in one day, and covered mountain and
vale with a pure white mantle. Next morning the valleys.
were clear; the snow was gone; and hour after hour as the
sun rose higher, the exposed mountains lost their covering,
and but one distant, lofty range, the Pallisers, kept their
snowy garment. Light showers with peals of thunder filled
the morning air; and the rising mists, with ever changing
hues, added beauty to thé sunlit mountain tops. The angry
storm was chased away by the floods of sunshine like the
frowns and passion by the returning smiles on the face of a
child. Nearly at noon—day a. fierce,-driviny~storm7of “rain

------~ ~ clouded thé sky; the effect was grand; the mountains seemed

disturbed on every side. As in Byron’s storm on the Lake of
Geneva, .

“Far along
From peak to peak, the rattling crags among
Leaps the live thunder. ”

It is no figure to say with hin,
“Every mountain now hath found a tongue. ”

But as the snow has gone, and the mists have cleared away
we are ready to :

EXPLORE THE PARK.

_ Banff nestles amidst the mountains. The grandest. view
is undoubtedly towards the north. There Cascade Moun-

|
i
j
{
t
i

ni
» .
— 25 — . ‘

tain; with its splendid peak, already described by us, presénts
its beauties, reaching as it does into the sky some ten thou-
sand feet above the sea. As the eye continues along the Saw-
back’ range, there is seen “ Hole in the Wall Mountain,” and
in the choice of these designations the early explorers have
certainly rivalled the absurdities of the Indians in giving their
chiefs such names, as “ Strike him in the back,” and “Man
who Stole the Coat.” Far to the west in the’ same view is
the splendid Castle Mountain, to which we, in company with
all visitors, have already paid our_devoirs. It is along the
base of these mountain’ that the Bow River flows,.and many
a visitor at Banfi takes a canoe or boat and passes up the river
toa series of beautiful lakes, known as the Vermillion Chain.
These are of surpassing interest. The quiet expanses of water,
safe for the tourist’s party, clear as crystal in their depths, are
full of attraction to visitors. Wild rice has been sown in the
retired coves of these lakes, 4nd wild fowl will’no doubt, in
ever increasing numbers, make this their summer home.
Having seen the lakes, on our return we take in as we leave
the river, looking southward, a fine view of the

TERRACE MOUNTAINS

or Sulphur range. These fill the whole southwestern horizon
and reach a height of 7,700 feet. Many points of local interest
will repay a fuller study here. Turning now to the east the
mountain scenery is exceedingly grand. Down the valley

before _us_is Tunnel Mountain. It is dark and wooded, and .

stands alone, seemingly left in solitude when the mighty range
split open to provide the pass for the river. Its name is a
ease of “lacus a non lucendo,” for there is no tunnel through
it. It seems it was originally intended that it should be tun-
neled, but certain adventurous spirits climbing to its top, dis—
covered the present circuitous route around its base, and the
tunnel was stopped. Southeast of Tunnel Mountain in our
view are the

TWIN-PEAK MOUNTAINS ;

ot Mount Rundle. These as they rise far up in the clouds,
show plainly that they were once together, but in the mighty
upheaval were torn apart. Letting the eye fall upon the
northeast, with Tunnel Mountain to the right, and Cascade
Mountain on the left, fhere is seen a magnificent view. Far

away is the pure white chain of the Pallisers. Like hoary

— 96 —

sentinels they stand, the sun making no impression upon them,
while all around us the mountains are reeking with the rising
vapors of the melting snow of yesterday Tunnel Mountain
and the Twin Peaks are all included in this-colossal picture,
and if anything more enchanting can be seen, it must be in a
land of celestial glories. But besides, there are the Q

LAKES AND RIVERS

of the park. Across the railway to the north of Bow River is
now being built a road which will open up the northeastern
portion of the park, far away towards the stately Pallisers.
Some seven miles of road will lead the tourist to Devil’s Lake,
the chief sheet of water in the park, bounded on the north by
the Pallisers and on the south by the Beecher range. The lake
takes its name from the rugged, unsightly peak, the Devil’s

Head, which, as before noted, is so prominent as to be visible’

out upon the prairies. In the same direction lies the Devil’s
Gap, so that the Prince of Evil seems to havé dvonsiderable
recognition in the National Park. The Devil’s Lake is a beau-
tifal, clear inountain loch, and will become a favorite resort.
It is about thirteen miles long and from one to two miles wide.
The Government, it is stated, intend to place a steam launéh
upon it next summer, in which case a most romanti: part of
the park will be thoroughly accessible. But, back again to
Banff. We may examine some of the local attractions. On
Terrace Mountains occur the

FAMOUS HOT SPRINGS,

These are very remarkable. No traces of voleanie action are
found in this part of the Rockies, and yet at seven points along

~ this Sulphur range springs flow from the mountain side,

which have a temperature varying from 90° to 119° Fahrenheit.
Summer and winter this thermal supply is given off, and the
water has useful qualities. The furthest west of these springs
is that connected with the celebrated”

MAGIC CAVE,

When first discovered, a small opening some three feet “acrass
led down from the top of a ridge into a cavern thirty or furty

feet deep to a sheet of water, this about thirty feet diameter.

and four feet.deep, In the midst of the pool was found boil-
ing up constantly a hot spring, the overflow of which makes

tro

- — 97 —
its.exit through the side of the hill At the base of the moun-
tain one of the Government buildings bas been erected, and
from this by a labyrithine tunnel, a new entrance has been
made to the pool It is new’ possible, without the dangerous
descent trom above, to inspect the cavern and, if one is so in-
clined, to have a hot bath. A hundred yards farther west is
another neat building erected by the Government, near which
a view may be had of the “basin.” Thisis an excavation into
which the water, at alittle lower temperature, is gathered.
The basin is built up about with the masses of tufa formed by
the spring. In the building near by is a slab, some four feet
square, showing well the process of incrustation, which is

formed on everything touched by the water. Retracing our’

steps down the well-made road for a couple of miles, we reach
THE SANITARIUM.

This is a commodius wooden building, under the direction of
Dr, Brett, one of our Winnipeg physicians. It has been the
chief place of resort at Banff during the summer. It must be
a difficult task, at a point so far from markets and business
centres, to keep up a comiortable hotel, with capacity for satis-
’ fying the appetites of hungry travellers. The object of the
Sanitarium is, as its name implies, to supply health to those in
search of it. This purpose has been necessarily forced into the
back-ground by the large numbers of visitors on pleasure bent.
As hotels are built, no doubt the Sanitarinm will return to its
original design, and its charming position as a health resort
will make it a great boon to invalids. There are at present no
hot baths at the Sanitarium, but at a point higher up the
mountain, a mile or two distant, and at the springs, Dr. Brett
has erected the Grand View Hotel, for invalids oniy, though
the baths are open to all. Carriages leave the Sanitarium at
short intervals for the Grand View. Near the springs other
enterprising persons have also erected boarding houses, where
baths may be obtained. The baths, steaming hot, are certainly
most interesting to visit. _-
THE SPRAY RIVER,

Strolling leasurely back from the springs in a northward di- .

rection we turn upon a well-made road to the east, and pass
the rustie residence, among the trees, of ‘the resident engineer,
Mr, Stewart, and further on take a path which leads us to the
prettiest river scenery of the park. This is a stream called the

~ a]
en , a
- fa ~

— 93 —

Spray River—a favorite resort for artists. This dashing river,
which empties a distance below into the Bow, is a succession of
cascades, rapids and eddies. Its banks are solid rock. The
rock on the south side is greatly dislocated. Beds of sandstone
and shale are found, tumbled together in a most promiscuous
manner. The rock seems to be of Cretaceous age, and from it
the writer secured a good specimen of fossilized wood. Having
followed the stream nearly to the bridge, and regretful at leav-
ing its beauties bebind, we climb by a mountain path up to
the palatial
CANADIAN PACIFIC HOTEL,

now being finished. The situation of this fine building is un-

surpassed in the park. From the balconies on every side of it
the grandeur of mountain, forest, rock and stream presses upon
us. The building isa fine piece of architecture, and its pre-
sent brown finish, relieved by red, is very effective. In the
building is a very lofty rotunda, extending from the ground
floor to the very top, after.the manner of hotels in the Southern
States. Corridors run off'in different directions, along which
are rooms, said to number in all about three hundred. The
tuilding is heated by steam. The dining room is commodious,
and the kitchens, with their handsome ranges, made us hungry,
breathing as we were the caller air of the mountains. This
hotel is nearly completed, the furniture having reached. Banff,
and it will no doubt be conducted in the faultless style for
which the C. P. R. is already famous in its hotels in the moun-
tains. For both the Sanitarium and the C. P R. Hotel, it is
plain, different arrangements than the present must be made
for the use of the

. MINERAL WATER.

A drive of two miles to the springs, especially for delicate
patients, is too great. The writer was glad to hear of another
plan proposed by the Government. The park being the pro-
perty of the Dominion, no portion of it is alienated ; even the
use of the water is leased. It is the intention of the Govern-
ment to establish, at a mile or more below the springs now
used, a reservoir, in which will be retained a sufficient supply
of water for the Sanitarium and the C. PR. Hotel, and indeed

for any other hotels which may be built. By connecting pipes

with this reservoir the water will be conducted and the pres-
sure regulated to meet all demands. The water itself is pecu-
liar in composition as .well as in’ temperature, The springs,

— 99

and the buildings connected with them, have a strong smell of
sulphuretted hydrogen— a by no means pleasant gas. The
composition of the water, taking 100,000 parts, is given as
follows : : von

Gypsum ...... 51.45
Epsom salts 8.79
Glauber salts -10.06
Limestone........00. 12.03
Soda of commerce 19,37
Sulphuric acid..... ~ 7,65

The quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen given off suggests
the presence of sulphides, and the rapid deposit as an incrus-
tation of the substances in solution, when the water cools, is
very surprising. The waters have evidently Very important
medicinal virtues. The writer met and conversed with all the
invalids, at the time, in the Grand View Hotel, and certainly
their testimony was very favorable. Rheumatism yields in-
evitably before the healing waters; netvous affections are, it is
said* cured; several internal ailments tre relieved, and cutane-
ous diseases giving way asif by magic. The patients drink freely
of the water and become fond of it. The writer cannot con-
fess, however, to have reached the stage of fondness. The rest
from toil and worry, the bracing mountain aix, and the oppor-
tunity afforded visitors for pleasant exercise, will contribute,
along with the remarkable water, to make Banff a place of
much resort. The account of a visit to the Rocky Mountains
would, however, be very imperfect without a description of a
trip to
ANTHRACITE.

An old Winnipeg friend, Capt. Constantine, and his hospitable’

wife, who are living at Banff, insisted on the writer paying a visit
to Anthracite, The place is reached by driving five miles from
Banff and then by walking down therailway track for a mile, for
Anthracite has no wagon road to it. It is thus a sort of island in

the mountains. This little mining village of some 200 or 250 peo-

ple has grown up very rapidly—in Jess than a year—and as
every one knows owes its existence to the discovery of work-
able beds of coal within a stone’s throw of the railway The
obliging superintendent of the mine afforded every facility for
visiting it, and the writer penetrated every tunnel to the very
end. The work of coal miming is here very easy, The mouth
of the pit is about forty feet above the railway track. The

— 30 —

approach is nearly horizontal as the mountain side is entered
and is some twelve feet in diameter. This allows a track to
be laid, on which, drawn by horses, are the usual shaped trucks
of the coal pit. Carrying lanterns we penetrated the darkness
and reached the first seam. This is a splendid coal layer seven
feet thick, with a dip of perhaps 30°; it has been worked both
right and left. Entering the left hand tunnel we followed it
to the very end, 520 feet, and secured from the men working
at the extreme point a choice specimen of coal. Similar tun-
nels further in were followed, one where the coal was about
three feet thick, and another of nearly five feet. On going
into the extreme distances the air became heavy, and we were
glad to learn that for the health of the miners ventilating ap-
paratus will soon be introduced. The coal is thus very easily
mined ; it is brought out by the horse-trucks, and thrown down
on an inclined frame of iron bars. This in the meantime serves
for sorting, but a rotating sifting apparatus is being prepared,
which will be a great improvement. After picking over to re-
move any shale present, the workmen conduct the coal by
spouts to the cars on the railway track. The expense ot min-
ing and moving the coal must thus be reduced to a minimum.

It IS ANTHRACITE.

The great question asked is as to the character of the coal ;
The Government geologistsin our Northwest have been tvo |
timid. They for years decided against our Northwestern coal, ;
but now such splendid deposits as that of bituminous coal from‘
the Galt mine are pushing their way into recognition. Scien
tific opinion should encourage, not raise douhts, as to importt
ant enterprises. To many it seemed too good to be true that
we should find real anthracite on Canadian soil. It was wrong-
ly said that there is but one real anthracite deposit in the world
and that in Pennsylvania. Of course there are anthracite
beds in South Wales and Peru, and now we know that we have

- this valuable anthracite mine in the Rockies) The London

VSN perianal

Times correspondent calls our deposit semi-anthracite. Anthra-
cite is simply stone coal. The specific gravity, percentage of
carbon and hardness of the Rocky Mountain coal, rank it-jvith
anthracite, The writer has burnt this coal. It has‘ small
flame, has intense local heat and no smoke. Its local. condi- ;
tions are similar to those of Pennsylvania anthracite, for it is
among the dislocated rocks where pressure and possibly heat
may have been applied, as is the case where the Alleghanties of
“ . - Yr

\

he tare

sepa at tee tae hy

—31—

\ .

Pennsylvania have changed the bituminous coal to anthracite.
It is not easy to determine, without a full geological investiga-
tion, the age of the Rocky Mountain coal. “Carboniferous rocks
do occur in the Rockies, and at a higher elevation on the brow
of Twin Peaks Mountain are Silurian beds, but in the Rockies
the Carboniferous and Cretaceous are very ‘conformable, and it
may be of the latter. At any rate the practical testS of our
black diamonds from the Mountains are highly satisfactory,
and while we werejat the mine an order for 4,000 tons for San

Francisco was being filled: It would not be surprising if this

~ anthracite should-drive out the poorer-varieties of bituminous

coal found on the Pacific cuast, for the bituminous coal of Nan-
aimg is somewhat inferior to our Galt mine coal.

~Our-party
returned from Anthracite rather begrimed and blackened by~—
the visit to the coal mine, but filled “with deep thoughts as to

the possibilities in many ways of our Rocky Mountains.
\
\

*\/[Webvard jo.

V.
PERILOUS CLIMB IN THE SELKIRES-GLACIERS
OF THE SUMMIT-—THE ICE FIELDS DE-
SCRIBED--BEAUTIES OF SCENERY. /

When the tourist bas reached Donald, the first crossing of
the celebrated Columbia river, he has the satisfied feeling that
he has “done the Rockies.” The passage, however, has been so
smooth and easy, and the attention to bodily comfort so com-
plete, that the traveller is, as far as possible, from imagining
himself either a Hannibal or a Napoleon, though he may have
crossed the Canadian Alps) At Donald, it is true, the most
difficult engineering, and the finest scenery, are yet ahead, but
the fact that the Rockies, the old time barrier, between the

. prairies and the sea, have been crossed, raises the thought of

how great an achievement the Canadian Pacific Railway is.
The cartoon in a late “Punch,” entitled the “New Northwest,

Passage,” is good. “ Britannia,” holding her trident, is sur-

rounded by walls of merchandize, and with the engine, “Can-
ada,” in view drawing the railway train, thus speaks: _
v- -«-~ “Now, from my western cliffs that front the deep,
To where the warm Pacific waters sweep.
Around Cathay and old Zipangu’s shore,
My course is clear. What can I wish for more?”
But the Columbia crossed, the train after following the
river for a few miles, suddenly dashes into the ~ ot

SELKIRK MOUNTAINS, —

’ The nfap of British Columbia shows the Columbia “river
sweeping in a loop around the north end of the Selkirk range,
and this is called-the “Big bend of the Columbia.” In build-
ing the railway the choice lay between following the river for
sixty miles of a longer route, or-facing the passes of the Sel-
kirks. Whatever may be the commercial disadvantages, the
tourist may rejoice that the present line was chosen, else he
should have missed the grandest scenery of the whole journey

— 33 —.

Everything about the Selkirks is rugged. As the line leaves
the Columbia to ascend the valley of the Beaver river, a lofty
gateway of rocks—the Beaver gap—marks the entrance on the
gorge. Down the valley towards us dashes, over countless cas-
cades, the stream.made up of the melting glaciers of the Sel-
kirks. The chasm, along whose side the river ascends, at times
becomes so narrow that a single tree thrown across serves as a
foot-bridge. Dashing torrents, one of them from a mountain
cave, are encountered as they fall with terrific force down the
cliff walls and pass under our feet. The climax of striking
scenery is reached in a series of foaming cascades called “The
Surprise.”" Amidst such rugged grandeur, it docs not amaze
us to see a bridge, said to be the highest trestle bridge in the
world, 296 feet above the boiling torrent. After asurfeit of
rock and cataract the train runs up a small tributary of the
Beaver and halts at the entrance of the .

FAMOUS ROGERS PASS. «

Readers of the Century Magazine of last year may remember
an article'on the Canadian Pacific Railway, In it was de-
scribed the series of hardships and thrilling adventures by
which Major Rogers and his party discovered the pass through
the Selkirks in 1883. It is said the whole party, thwarted in

=—-their efforts by the rugged mountains, were: in despair, except

their leader. The second in command could only be induced to
make further effort by a promise, given by the Major, that the
most majestic mountain should be named after him. The al-
most hopeless trial was made, and was successful. The rail-
way reaches in this pass a height of 4,300 feet, which is almost
one thousand feet less than the summit of the Rockies at
Stephen. Through barriers, overhanging us on both sides, we
cross the heights, and on the other side are thoroughly glad to
find ; SY

THE GLACIER HOTEL.

In the mountains the traveller is always ready for his
meals, but in the Glacier House the viands are so attractive that
even hunger as a sauce is hardly needed. But there are greater
objects of interest here than the comfortable hostelry. The
Glacier is worthy of full study, and here is thoroughly accessi-
ble. Standing at’the railway station, having come through
the pass, we are on the west side of the Selkirks and from this
point the view is entrancing. The mighty mountains make

mm 34 —

about us an amphitheatre. Mt. Sir Donald, nearly 11,000 feet
above the sea, rises before us. The peak is sriow-clad and very
bold, as the tops of all the Selkirks are. High up on- the.
bosom of fhe monarch lies a small glacier. Macdonald, former-
ly Mt. Carroll, is before us, while on the other side is “Hermit”
mountain, looking like a cowled monk, with his dog following.
This mountain, it is said, is now called “Tupper.” As we gaze

_at the magnificent landscape, we remember that this is the head

of the valley, and that the small stream that dashes past our
feet is the product of the Lower Glacier, which lies embedded
in the hollow of the mountains. The river was formerly known >
as the Moberly, but is now called the Micilliwaet, or “ Madly
Rushing River,” and well it deserves the name. Luncheon
over, a start must be made to ‘

_

VISIT THE GLACTER.

The nearest point of the Glacier is perhaps a mile and a half
distant. It looks like a bed of snow in the lap of the lower
hills. A road, winding along the river, has been cut through
the forest. One feels so filled with rapture in the majestic pre-
sence of the mountains that tbe company of other human
beings seems irksome. In climbing, however, it is a mistake
to gounattended. The journey is interesting, even from the
starting point of the Glacier House. In the absence of other
identifications, the writer gave suitable names to the various
points of interest. Passing a high. mass of overhanging rock,
under which is a seat for tired or idle visitors, a beautiful turn
of the mad torrent of the milky, glacier stream bursts upon the
view. Following on a lovely dell appears, and from this, through
an opening in the forest, the glacier is seen. The path winds
now towards the stream, and near it is erected a halting place.
Already the tourist has inscribed himself upon the posts and
rails of this summer house, and_some more ambitious sight-
seers have engraved their names upon the rafters. Imme-
diately on resuming the journey a rustic bridge is crossed, the
first over the stream we are ascending. The path then be-.

_ comes more steep, an opening in the Sydods suddenly reveals

a “panorama view ” of the mountains and their perpendicular
cliffs. The path again descends and crosses the licilliwact by
the “Boulder Bridge.” . Standing on the fragile structure the
stream above is seen to widen out into a dry, sandy: flat, cov-
ered with thousands of rounded boulders, The path now as-

a

— 35 —

.!

cends still more; the blocks of solid rock are more numerous; |

the stream is crossed again, and here is

L THE BRIDGE OF THE GORGE —

‘Standing on this the traveller becomes excited. The river

dashes beneath as if possessed by all the weird spirits .of the
flood. Above the bridge it may be seen boiling out from a
narrow channel, with huge over-hanging rocks unable to can-
‘fine it. Leaving the ordinary path, a hard, dangerous .climb
brings to a lofty cliff over-looking this boiling cauldron. Here
is the “Grand View.” The-glacier, with its caves and open-
ings, is only a few hundred feet distant. Silvery torrents run
down the steep mountain sides before us. Close under are the
moraines of the former glacier, which at one time extended far
- down the valley. Around the “Grand View” is a wilderness
of enorihous rocks. It seems as if the Titans had-been at play
and had really piled Pelion on Ossa. But nothing will do
but to .
CLIMB THE GLACIER. . 4

A struggle through dry water courses -and dense tangle”
wood and the foot of the glacier is reached! See the steep
precipice of ice, as deep in color as green bottle glass! Ice
caves run here and there into its depth. Great, crevasses, like
perpendicular rifts, yawn in their greediness. In the green
caves, water is.dropping constantly, and from under the glacier
_are coming countless rivulets, joining at the base of the ice to
form the river of the-glacier. . Rocks lying beneath the weight
of ice are seen crushed to fragments; others, like flat tables,
are on the edges of the monstrous pile smoothed Ly“the grind-

ing ice as if planed by the most perfect machinery. Tonsof .

sand and gravel are carried dway by the ‘gurgling waters,
emerging like springs from the icy caves: But such tame
achievements as gazing from the bottom of the glacier do’not
satisfy, and theclimb is begun up the , /

é

‘OLD MORAINE - '

alongside the glacier. The perspiration, flowing plentifully ag
the climb is pursued, is chilled in a moment by the air of the
glacier. A scanty vegetation grows among the boulders and
gravel, but is all Alpine in character. The writer was at length
rewarded by a top view of the lower fold of the glacier, and a
foothold was gained upon the icy field. But what.a waste!

~

eed

— 36 —

The crevasses opened their wide jaws; the expanse is a vast
snow wilderness ; and the sense of solitude is oppressive. In
thickness, at the point where it is most advanced, the glacier
is perhaps a hundred feet thick, but as it ascends, the solid ice
must reach a depth of eight hundred feet. In breadth it widens
out from a few hundred feet to three-quarters of a mile at its
top, and becomes lost in the boundless mer-de-glace, or ice-
field which covers the mountains at a height of 6,000 or 8,000
feet above the sea level. The motion of the glacier is itS° most
surprising feature. Several hundred feet eachi year it creeps
down the valley like a mighty Python, and scientists have now
decided that the underlying ice is viscous and pliable, suiting
itself to every inequality of its rocky bed. On the high moun-
tain tops, which feed the glacier, the perpetual snow is found,
not yet turned to ice. But the descent must be made, and
over the rolling stones and shifting gravels it is more difficult
than the climb up had been. On crossing the front of the ice
mass, and passing to the north side, and again climbing up the
debris,
THE CAVE OF THE GLACIER

is reached. Thisisa thing of beauty. It is a great cavern
- thirty or forty feet deep, hollowed out from the solid mass.
Arched overhead, as it is, by great ribs of green ice, as the
writer stood within it, gazing at the great rock which formed
its entire wall, and was no doubt the cause of the cave, the
brilliancy of the scene seemed to recall the splendor of the
Arabian Nights’ Entertainments of our boyish fancy. Not far
from the mouth of the cave lay a slab of “gray rock, 18 or io ;
feet square, and as smooth as glass—a spendid exarople of ola-
cial action. Lapping with the hand from the ice cold water
and thrice that good fortune might attend the further journey—
the writer turned away with regret from the moving ice mon~
ster of the valley to attempt something higher. To explore
the lower glacier had taken-about three hours, and now some.
three thousand feet higher, on the northern horizon lay

THE GLACIER UF SIR DONALD,

Could that yet be attained before night ? Leaving the Mlicilli-
waet, the steep path was again resumed. It was toilsome work.
To the right lay the glacier already explored. Though the re-
cent climb had weakened the leg muscles, yet there lay aloft
the inviting ice field of the highest peak, Fora time the herb-

— 37 —

age was luxuriant, and blueberries grew thick enough to re-

fresh the traveller. Suddenly, as the path turned to the left, —

a roar was heard, and .
“THE OUTLOOK ”

was reached, above a sheer precipice down which a torrent
rushed. But, on! whatastene! Before the eyes were the
perpendicular stone walls of what might be a hundred cita-
dels. A dozen torrents were at once in view streaming down
these rugged cliffs. The sound of many waters could be heard.
It seemed a picture from atale of chivalry. There were the
strongholds and the keeps of the mighty; there the munitions
of rocks. The path runs higher. At last it stops, but a way
appears open, by crossing the boulders over the torrent, and
gaining an old moraine,'with another dashing stream on its
eastern side. Now the climb was up

A STEEP PENINSULA OF BOULDERS.

On resting a moment, and turning around towards the
south, there was to be seen the lowering glacier already explored,
its point far below. But sights of sublimity had almost ceased
to impress, and the aim in view invited to renewed effort.
Clambering up the stones and gravel, Sir Donald peak does
seem to be nearer. Another climb and it is certainly within
reach Yetitis approaching six o’clock, and there is nota
companion or a resting place nearer than the hotel, three or
four miles away. Indulging in a reflective mood for a few
minutes, and while taking a final view of the mountain glories,
murmuring that man’s chase is always after that which eludes
him, the attempt was given up, at a point perhaps 8,000 feet
above the sea. The descent was accomplished safely, and the
writer, hungry and tired reached the hotel as the shades of
evening were falling. Next day the journey along the rail-
way was resumed. The descent from the summit of the Sel-
kirks has a wonderful piece of engineering in

THE RAILWAY LOOP,

as it is usually called. The construction is made on the prin-
ciple of the threads of a screw. Far down steep gradients on the
mountain sides, and crossing curved trestle bridges across the
valley, the railway winds round and round. Two points of
the loop, 130 feet apart, have a difference in level of 120 feet.
The loop is said to be seven miles long. The Hlicilliwaet that

— 38 —

we saw as a bubbling rivulet at the point.of the glacier is our
constant friend down the valley, augmented now by streams
from every mountain side. It becomes like an old friend by
and by, but it is the fierce, uncertain, turbulent river to the
end. Well on in the afternoon as -we haste westward, we
come to a tremendous fall in the river, by which it drops 200
feet, and to a level 300 feet below the train from which: we see
it. This is ;

THE ALBERT CANYON, °

and we view it from a giddy height. The constant feeling
impressing the traveller is one of wonder at the gigantic oper-
ations undertaken here by the engineers. Nearly 12 miles of
substantial snow sheds, now almost completed, will make, it is
said, the avalanches of the Selkirks harmless eddies of snow:
The traveller reaches with a feeling of relief the banks of the
Columbia river, having descended in the short space of. 45
miles no less than 2,300 feet from the summit of the Selkirks.
Here is Revelstoke, the second crossing of the Columbia

t
4

*\/festward Ma.

_ VI.

DOWN THE FRASER GORGE-THE BIG TREES--
MAGIC CITY-THE CITY OF THE DELTA~
THE QUEEN OF THE PACIFIC -—THE
PACIFIC COAST, PAST AND FUTURE.

From Revelstoke, an ascent is made, but by an easy transit
the next mountain range is crossed. The region of majestic
mountain scenery is left behind. A good story comes to us
here: A sight-seeing American lady, a few months ago, on en-
tering the Selkirks on the C.P.R., asked the conductor to kindly
point out the objects of interest as they were reached. The
obliging official promised the matter attention. And now,
after leaving the wonders through which they had passed,
the cicerone asked the lady whether the magnificence of the
mountains, the fury of the cataracts, or the fearful chasms and
canyons of the route; made most impression on her. Ah! re-
plied. the lady, it is all very beautiful—all very wonderful!
But what was most striking to you ? continued the conductor.
Well, if I must say, answered the prosaic, but probably practi-
cal lady : “ The most impressive sight was the snow sheds.”
A steady rise of the line carries the train through

THE GOLD RANGE ¢

to the beginning of the Eagle Pass, named, itis said, as if from
a Roman augury by the railway explorers who, following the
flight of the king of birds, found the route. The mention of the
Gold Range brings back to mind that we are in the land of the
gold excitement of 1858, of which more anon. The western
ranges of British Columbia all.seem to contain gold. Every-
where weather beaten prospectors, or plodding Chinamen, may
be seen wandering from place to place, with rocker and camp
utensils on their shoulders, looking for new diggings. Moun-
tai sides, here and there densely wooded, show the lines of

~ “~ — 40 —
smoke, where the camp of the gold seeker is “located.” Pack
horses or mules, with their loads, are to be seen climbing steep
mountain paths, crossing over to the mining camps. The Cari-
boo, the Thompson and the Upper Fraser are names as famili-
arly associated with the search of the precious metal, as even
the Gold Range. And how few of the explorers find a com-
petence! The prospector, always feverishly expecting a new
turn in the wheel of fortune, after many ups and downs, gen-

erally ends his- miserable life disappointed. It is to-day as
“tral the "azoursmt-thirst-for geld” as-schen the Raman post
coined the phrase. As the Eagle Pass is descended there is
. perhaps 7
THE MOST LOVELY SCENERY

of the route. The surroundings are no longer grand, but they ..
are beautiful. The Shuswaps, a tribe of Indians visited three~
quarters of a century ago by the fur traders, lived here,
and have given their name to the lakes of entrancing beauty,
from which the southern tributary of Thompson River forms.
Lake Shuswap lies in the centre of an upland district of great
importance. At the point where the railway crossed an arm
_ of the lake, called the Sicamous Narrows, is the embouchure
_ of the Spallumcheen River, which runs from the finest agri-_
cultural district of British Columbia. The writer was in-
formed that mills of large capacity, are now being erected on
this river, by which the grain produced in the district will be
ground, and a supply sufficient for the whole trade of British
Columbia be obtained. After touching at several points of the
ever re-appearing lake, the river is next followed, and at the
junction of the two branches of the Thompson,

FAMOUS KAMLOOPS

(“the Forks”) is reached. We are here on historic ground. .
It gives a double charm to the place for the traveller to know
cy ; that this was a pivot point of the old fur trade. To Kamloops
* . came first of whitemen, in 1810, David Thompson, “ astrono-
Mew mer and surveyor” of the Northwest- Fur Company of Mon-.
treal, and built Thompson Fort at the junction of the two
rivers now bearing his name. We could imagine the stalwart
trader, described as with “high forehead and broad shoulders,
the intelectual well set upon the physical,” standing at this
now famous point, admiring the scene, and puzzling in ‘his
mind whether this was thé Fraser, the Columbia, or some.
hitherto undiscovered river. Two years later Alexander Ross,

— 4] —

afterward the well-known sheriff of Red River, established
here a post for the Astor Fur Company. Kamloops has now
become the ranching district of British Colambia. The variety
of climate in aur Pacific province is something amazing.: ©
While Spallumcheen, passed by us further up the mountains,
is, as we have seen, an agricultural district, and while on the
coast there is a climate rivalling that of the west coast of the
British Isles for moisture, at Kamloops is a region so dry as to

REQUIRE IRRIGATION
or agriculture. The moisture of the winds from west and

south-east alike is precipitated on the opposite slopes of the
mountains, and Kamloops is so dry that for several years to-
gether no rain falls). Through the region, however, grows the
celebrated “ bunch grass,” which, with the appearance on the
outside of dry stubble, is green and fresh in the centre, even
in the driest seasons. Large herds of horses from this district
have already found their way over the mountains to the plains
of the Northwest, and are being sold in the prairie towns of
Manitoha. This upper country has been settled for twenty
years by immigrants, most of whom reached the locality by
following the toilsome river journey from the Pacific Coast..
Hither also came many a hapless wanderer from the Rocky
Mountain passes. We could not forget the arrivalshere in
1863 of Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle’s party in their misery :
“ Our clothes in tatters, the legs of Miltun’s trousers torn off
above the knees, and Cheadle’s in ribbons, our feet covered
over by the shreds of moccasins, our faces gaunt, haggard and
unshaven, our hair long, unkempt and matted, and we bad no
means of proving our identity, where our appearanve was so ~
little calculated to inspire confidence or liking,”
But the C. P. R. does not allow us to linger long at Kam-
loops. Skirting the edge of Kamloops Lake the railway next
_ follows the Thompson, into which the lake narrows. Here
the river runs through-a deep canyon, and the terrific river
scenery of British Columbia begins, A mountain hamlet at
~ Spence’s bridge marks the spot where the precipitous gorge is
crossed by a bridge, from which roads lead to various points
in the mountains. The railway follows along the south side
of the Thompson, until at Lytton. oo
THE MIGHTY FRASER RIVER '

is reached, and crossed by a lofty iron bridge. Our sensations

—42— «=

on reaching the Fraser river were péculiar. It is as well
known to us by reputation as the Amazon or the Niger. It
is our great river in British Columbia, and ranks with the Col-
orado and the Columbia on the Pacific coast. It brings back
to us @ whole flood of historic memories. Sir Alexander _
Mackenzie saw its upper waters in 1793, and now Simon
Fraser of 1806, whose name it bears, seems alive to us again.
The courageous, energetic, ill-tempered fur-tradex is well com-
memorated by this fierce, uncertain, but dashing river which
has his name. He is the same Fraser who stood his trial for
the attack on Fort Douglas, Red River, in which Governor
Semple was killed in 1816. Fraser was a typical Nor’wester.
But Fraser river is not only wonderful,

IT IS TERRIFIC

in its grandeur. There seems, judging by-the—terraees- or
benches, to have been a great internal lake in Upper British
Columbia, hemmed in by the Cascade Mountains between it
and the sea. At length by dislocation and upheaval a gorge,
sometimes thousands of feet deep, and here and there a mile
wide, opened to allow the pent-up waters of the interior to
gush forth. With terrific—no milder word will suffice—force
the way was cleared and the torrent rushes howling to the
sea, A canoe would be dashed to pieces in a moment in its
rapids; the sheer banks afford no. natural pathways along
them; the Frazer gorge presents probably the most awe-in-
spiring river scenery in the world Even before the days of
the C, P. BR. which now skirts the gorge of the river, a great
eugineering work had been accomplished in building

THE FRASER RIVER WAGON ROAD.

The credit of building this most useful and surprising public
improvement belongs to Mr. J. W. Trutch, who fitly became the
first governor of British Columbia on its entrance into Con-
federation in-1871. How much better to be thus remembered .
than for having been a successful butcher of men!

‘The following description of Trutch’s wagon road has been _
given by a British traveller: “The road, especially from below |
Lytton to Yale, is probably the most wonderful in the world.
Cut out of the mountain side of the gorge, it follows the hills
as they recede in “ gulches,” or advance in bold, upright bluffs
in constant windings, like.an eternal S. The curves of ascent
and descent are as sinuous as the lateral, the road at one time

— 43—

running down, by u series of rapid turns, to the very bottom
of the valley, and then rising as quickly to pass the face of
some protruding bluff, apparently a complete barrier to all
advance, but past which it creeps, looking from below like a
mere line scratched on the round front, 500 or 600 feet above
the river. At these points the road is partly blasted out of
the solid granite rock, and the width increased by beams of
rough pine which project over the precipice, but it is yet too
narrow for vehicles to pass each other except at certain points.
There is, of course, no protecting wall; the road overhangs the
precipice, and nothing is to be seen supporting the platform
on which you stand—a terrible place to drive as we afterwards
. found. The road has been built in this skilful and laborious
manner, from where it first strikes the Thompson to Yale, a
distance of nearly 100 miles.”
Yale is a town in

4A STATE OF DECAY,

having become a mere wayside railway station, whereas it
formerly had an importance as the head of navigation on the
Fraser. Following the banks of the river, ever changing vis-
tas are revealed as the railway track sweeps around bold
headlands, crosses bridges at a dizzy height, or emerges from
rocky tannels, until the lower country near the delta of the
Fraser is reached. The green valley shows that the seaside
moisture is here, and that the regions of drought have been
forsaken. A few miles before the seaside is reached the rail-
way is left for a time.to drive across country through the

“REGION OF BIG TREES,”

The forests of the British Columbia sea coast are amazing.
Not only the height and diameter of the stately trees, but the
dense jungle, impassable in many places for man or beast, the
trailing mosses hanging from the branches and the luxuriant
foliage-betoken an exuberance belonging rather to a tropical
climate than to the Canadian forest. One feels as if travelling
in Gulliver's land of Brobdignag, and the sight-seer appreciates
his insignificance as he looks at these monarchs of the forest
that were the contemporaries of Wyclif, or were a century old
when America was distovered. Chief among these forest trees
is the Douglas spruce or fir—known also as the Douglas or
Oregon pive. This magnificent tree reaches a height of 250
or 800 fect, and is frequently eight feet in diameter. Visitors

— 44 —

to the Parliament Buildings at Ottawa may remember on the
grounds, the section of a Douglas spruce upwards of eight feet
in diameter. Spars 130 feet long have been obtained from this
mighty tree. The lumber manufactured from this tree is red-

dish in color, full of pitch, heavy, and is now finding its way...

to the prairies on this side of the Rockies. Other gigantic
trees, chiefly of cone bearing varieties, are found in the British
Columbian forests, while most of the ordinary Canadian trees
occur. On Vancouver's Island the traveller is surprised to see
the Arbutus tree, reaching some 50 feet high, with its tawny
ragged bark. Enormous wealth lies in the forests of the Pacific
Province. But returning to the railway the journey is resumed
to the terminus on Burrard Inlet at

THE MAGIC CITY

of Vancouver. Here, where the dense sea side forest was
growing untouched, but little more than two years ago, and
where a year-and-a-half since was the blackened site of a
town destroyed by tire, is now a thriving, bustling city of five
thousand people. It is still a city of stumps, for the mere
clearing of the Jand isa work of great difficulty. Already
lines of wharves are built, alongside of which were to be seen
the “Abyssinian,” the China ‘steamer, awaiting her cargo, and
many other vessels, while lying around the inlet ave ships tak-
ing loads for South America, . Australia, and the Sandwich Is-
lands. Vancouver is very far from seeming a fairy city, for
the lines of liquor stores along Water Street remind us of the
baser appetites of thirsty mortals. The place gives every
evidence of its recent origin, Though churches and schools
are erected, and are in full operation, yet their work is evidently
awaiting them. At the west end of the town a fine’ street is
being laid out, on which are Lady Stephen’s block, and other
substantial buildings of stone, erected by persons more or less
closely connected with the C.P.R. To any one at all acquainted
with the rising life of new countries the outlines are plainly
visible of a great sea port in thi? terminal city of the Cana-

dian Pacific Railway. .The older life of the mainland is rep-
resented by

NEW WESTMINSTER, oo,
a few miles distant, not far from the mouth of the Fraser River.

fy

The former centre of the Mainland Provinee, for Vancouver Is- "

_land and British Columbia were under separate jurisdictions

— 45 —

until 1866, was this city of the Fraser River Delta. Though not
the terminus of the railway, it has a branch, and seems a pros-
perous town. It seems more like a Canadian town than any
place on the Pacific Coast, though a little toned down by the
sleepy climate of Columbia. The site of the town is very
beautiful, and the trade of the Lower Fraser River agricul-
tural settlements is its principal resource. Four salmon can-
neries, in or near the place, employ, it is said, 1,500 men. The
public buildings of New Westminster are a credit to the town.
But now for Victoria, .

THE QUEEN CITY

of the Columbian coast. Commodious steamers conduct us, in
six or eight honrs, through the famous straits of Georgia, in
_view in clear weather of lofty mountains west, east and even
south in the neighbouring Washington territory. Straits and
narrows which abound with islets remind us of the beautiful
Thousand Islands of our own St. Lawrence. At night we arrive
at Victoria and find it an interesting place, with hotels unsur-
passed on the Continent. The city has some 13,000 people,
and is evidently the abode of wealth and luxury. Its clubs,
public buildings and private residences speak of an old and
organized society. One recalls with wonder the gold excite-
ment of 1858, when Victoria in a few months became, from a
hamlet of 300, a city of 20,000 people. All is quiet and set-
tled now. The Chinese element is large, distressingly so. The
air of the whole city is English and tropical. There is a dille-
tante air even about the business men, that in this hurry-
‘ing age is rather a pleasure to the visitor. The soft, genial air of
Victoria betokens a Lotus Eater’s land, and were it not that
the liquor dealer's trade seems to thrive too well, life would here
be very enjoyable. The neighboring town and graving
dock on the harbor of Esquimault is one of the little bits of
British Imperialism still remaining to us in Canada. Everyone
must of course visit In Victoria the Chinese joss house, and many
the Chinese theatre. The Government buildings and:grounds,
with the neat stone shaft in wemory of Sir James Douglas,
British Columbia’s greatest man, must be seen. Public schools,
afew churches and the cemetery are worth a visit, and the
rather antiquated governor's house suggests that Provincial
Lieutenant-Governors are not -very well supported amongst
us. The really interesting sights of Victoria are the private

residences, with their gardens and beautiful flowers.

~~ 46 —
THE NOTABLES

among the people of the Government are the Island Millionaire
Dunsmuir, who controls the Island railway, an adroit and
pleasant politician, Hon. John Robson, and others included
under a large Et Cetera. The writer had the pleasure of
‘ spending the evening with Bishop Cridge, the victim of eccle-
«slastical tyranny, but a geilal and interesting man. His chief
sin seems to have been-heing too honest and too evangeli-
cal. Many more men of his type are evidently needed to lift
high the standard of truth on the Pacific coast. The impres-
sion made upon the mind of the writer was that certain forms
of evil have‘become strongly intrenched on the Pacific coast,

- and will need vigorous and united action to overthrow them.

The story of Metla-Katla, as heard from the Bishop’s lips, and
obtained from works on the subject made one much dispirited,
as this Indian mission, seen by so many former visitors to be a
garden of Eden, was described as a desolate spot, forsaken by

the Indians who have crossed to Alaska. One evening we
spent with

THE VETERAN FUR TRADER,

Duncan Finlayson, one of the wealthiest and best known of
Victoria's citizens. Duncan Finlayson came to the coast more
than fifty years ago, and has spent his life upon it. He is a
splendid specimen .of a Highlander. Tall and handsome, the
ald man is still yet of surprising intellect. He came to estab-
lish the H. B. Co, fort in Vietoria in 1848, and possesses. &
large portion of valuable city property. He keeps: ib simply
to “ pasture his coo upon it,” though it is in great demand.
We passed with him a delightful evening discussing British
Columbia of old, and went home to the “ Driard” to dream of
the furtraders. ; ; ,

: Our ¢ ndians.

. , .Y

I.

PIA-POT AND MUSCOWPETUNG—FOUR DAYS".

VISIT ON THE RESERVES.

“ What's to be done with the Indians ?” is the question be-
ing asked by churches, the Government, by settlers who live
near the reserves, and by all who love their country. Even
when all are agreed as to the need of caring for the Indian,
men differ in regard to how the end may be attained. The
‘General Assembly last year thundered forth denunciations of
evil agents and officials. Private individuals spoke in the
same direction. The Indian officials feel sore. The Govern-
ment agents maintain that wrongs which formerly existed
have been set right, and that. now the Indian is on the fair
way to happiness and comfort. Gov. Dewdney very gener-
ously offered to transport a delegation of the General Assem-
bly through the reserves lying along the C.P.R. The deputa.

tion came and have gone; and it is well to know what the ~~

state of the Indian is. The writer followed the deputation,
being indebted to a private offer to visit the reserves on a few
days’ trip. .

- WILD PIA-POT.

Pia-~pot’s reserve is perhaps the best in the Northwest for
studying the effect of the present Indian policy. This wily
chieftain, as most people know, was five years ago the leader
of a band of Indians at the Cypress Hills, near the boundary
line. He is not a hereditary chief. He was a great warrior
against the Blackfeet, Sarcees, Bloods and other tribes some
thirteen or fourteen years ago. By his personal prowess, and
by his cunning, he gathered around him a band of Indians, so
bad that they have been called “the offscouring of the plains,”
Moreover, Jike the well-known Sbawnee chief “ the Prophet,”
the brother of Tecumseh, at the beginning of this century, or
Sitting Bull, the leader of the Sioux in later times, Pia-pot is
a medicine man of his band. The medicine man, by the use

Me

— 48 —

of magic, and of ways that are dark, keeps his people under
control, even though they often doubt him. It is this power
that makes Pia-pot and his band so refractory.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
z

Pia-pot is a little over the medium size, and is said to be a
Cree, although from the close association of the Crees and
Stoneys in this part of the country, it seéms not unlikely that .
the chief may have Assiniboine blood in his veins. His face |
is a compound of keenness and duplicity. His dark eye re-
veals nothing. A look at his face tells you that he has an
alert mind, and a pow-wow increases the impression very
strongly. Pia-pot is a diplomat of the plains. He now pro-
fesses to be anxious for peace. “Many people say Pia-pot is
a bad Indian,” were the words of the cunning. chief. “They .
are liars,” was his emphatic disavowal. “Pia-pot is now liv- .
ing so close to the whiteman,” said he, “that his hair is be-
coming white, too.” The chief professes himself willing to.
send his little boys and girls to the whiteman’s school, but
not those of riper years. To see. agji hear about Pia-pot re-
minds one of the wily forest leaders, such as Kondiaronk and
Pontiac of the former days. Pia-pot’s skill as a manager may’
be seen from the reception of the delegation a few days ago.
All good clothing was carefully hidden away ; the old chief
and his band appeared; to the disgust of the Indian officials,
in utter rags; they were a real begyar’s brigade. No doubt
the deputation wondered apvhere all the coats and dresses,
stockings and caps sent by Christian women in Ontario had

gone. It was simply a ruge to extract donations from their
visitors.: ; ;

MORALITY.

The difficulty both of the government and the church must
be recognized in the exceeding immorality.of this and some
other bands. The very general presence of scrofula speaks of
poison in the blood that cannot be mistaken. Itis well known
that bands formerly along the boundary line were utterly de-
based. This band represents the most heathen ‘population in
the Northwest, and 2 heathen population degraded by contact
with unscrupulous and villainous whites. The faces: of the

" women and even of the young girls, are besmeared in the most -

hideous manner with red lead, thus. poisoning: ‘their blood.

— 49°-—
The whole band adhere closely to-the blanket. Pia pot evi-

dently regards the blanket as a fetish'of his people; sits at -

bis meals with it, walks in it, rides in it, and of course, sleeps
in it. .A number of houses belong to the Indians. These are
situated in the Qu’Appelle Valley, but the band in the sum-
mer live in their teepees. The irregular and indiscriminate
lives of the families result in utter wickedness.

* : DISEASE.

Vice and disease are handmaids. As already said the vices
of the past_two or three generations since the Crees of the
plains met ‘the white traders and, whiskey sellers-are visited
upon the children. Diseases of the lungs are very common.
Hereditary ailments and the“present mode of life conspire to

make this moge and more the case. The writer in company

with the medical man visited Muscowpetung’s reserve and
was impressed with the necessity of careful medical treatment
of this dying race. .

" FOOD.

‘So much has been said about the character of the food given
the Indians that on both Pia-pot’s and Muscowpetung’s re-
serves care was‘taken to examine the rations given out. The
flour was “strong bakers” and was of excellent quality.
Beautiful white bread was eaten by the writer made from this
flour. The bacon was of excellent quality. At times fresh
beef takes the place of bacon. Certainly this must be better
for the health of the scrofulous natives than salt meat. At
the same time the ease of: keeping the bacon in hot weather,
and the less amount of work both to Indians and officials re-
quired, by the use of. preserved meat, are regarded as giving
_ at times.the preference to the bacon. The fat of the bacon is’

also valued by the Indians in there primitive cookery. The
tea was good black tea of average quality. The tobacco
seemed of good quality, though the writer is not a judge. ‘The
method of checking supplies seems very complete. The agent
on the receipt of supplies, gives a veceipt, along with a sample
of the goods received, which is forwarded‘to Ottawa and there
compared with the standard, before the price is paid. .

RATIONS. -

_ The most puzzling question of Indian administration is the

feeding of the Indians. Here we are in the midst of the for-

rr

— 50 —

mer buffalo country. These Indians cannot subsist on the
prairie now. The game is gone. Gophers-are all that remain
in any quantities. The government supplies cattle and imple-
ments. The rule is laid down that ali must work. If a man

* does not work, neither should he eat. Very well! The more

tractable are got out of their teepees by the instructors. They
are given plots of ground and seed. They and their families
receive food. A portion do work well. The writer saw an
Indian ploughing, and his skill would do no dishonor to a
white man. But what about the idlers? A lazy man always
quarrels with his tools, The average Indian is lazy. It would
seem then that no rations should be given the idler. But the
idler is noisy. He complains of being starved. This is at-
tributed to the shabbiness of the agent or the stinginess of the
Government. Troublesome people, who have a political axe
to grind, or who court notoriety, take up the lazy Indian's
cause, and as the result the ‘effort to force the Indian to work
becomes a failure. The stories about the Indians being com-
pelled to eat garbage are very misleading. Here is an in-
stance: Pia-pot’s band a few weeks ago went toa Sun dance
to another reserve. They feasted as only an Indian can feast.
On their way home they came upon a dead ox at a farmer's
house. They got permission from the farmer to take away:
their prize. They had a grand feast on the decaying carcase ;
indeed from the nature of the food enjoyed a “high” time.
This might easily be tortured into a “starving story.” The
fact is the stomach of an Indian is insatiable. _

The great difficulty is to raise a feeling of emulation in an :
Indian’s breast. If some inducement can be held out to make
the Indian work, and some reward given that the Jazy man
may in time become a worker, progress may be maile. The
cultivation of the idea of: property is working well, though
slowly. On Moscowpetung’s reserve are numerous cases of
Indians owning three, four, five. and six cattle ; so on Pia-pot’s.
On both reserves the Indians cut and sold enough hay last
season to purchase wagons for themselves. The winter saw
upwards of a dozen wagons on these reserves bought in this
way. Every wagon purchased, or horse or cow worked for ~
and owned, represents just so much progress towards civiliza-
tion, Patience and firmness will be needed for a few years to
come, in forcing by just and cautious methods, the Indians
into a state of supplying their own wants. Probably not less
than three hundred acres of waving grain in excellent condi- ;

— 51 —

tion on these reserves of say 500 Indians, and about 300 cat-
tle, speak of the efforts towards making the Indians self-sus-
taining. It must be by giving, for some time, enough to keep
the Indian from want, but by as rigid a system as possible,
preventing him from being pauperized and made permanently
lazy and worthless, that progress can be made. The writer
after seeing these two reserves, feels that though the process
is a slow and disheartening one, yet, that. enough progress has
been made in these refractory bands to give some hope for its
ultimate success,

RELIGIOUS TRAINING.

Beyond a few interviews, no religious teaching has reached
these reserves. The Presbyterian Church has taken the mat-
ter up within the past year. A missionary bas been ap-
pointed. A house is now erected fur him. But in this, as
in farming, the progress must be slow. These Indians
; fe superstitious as well as vicious. When it thunders they
rush under cover like a herd of animals. They are having
their dances every night just now. They keep their old faith

and customs. The doctor was frightfully disgusted to see |

several men to whom he had given strong medicine in the
morning, dancing themselves into a perspiration, and then be-
coming chilled in the night air. The dance is the enemy of
health, morality and progress. The fear of magic or medicine
is strong. Any disease or disaster is traced to the malevolence
of the missionary or teacher. Any contact with the white.

teacher or missionary is regarded as‘dangerous. Thus the

process of christianization will be very slow.
EDUCATION,

' The real hope of the Indian is in the education of the
young. Many are aware that the writer has been for years
speaking and writing against the present system of Indian
schools. The miserable attendance and utter want of progress
of the pupils is their condemnation. It is gratifying now to
find that all along the line, both in church and government
circles, “ boarding schools” are regarded as the only successful
agency. , On Pia-pot'sreserve, for example, for some eiglit
months past, where there are seventy or eighty children of
school age, ‘there has been the greatest irregularity. Some
’ - days there have been fifty pupils present, some days not five.
’ The teacher, Miss Rose, is a model teacher, and an earnest

— 52 —

Christian who loves the Indian. She is the very embodiment
ot kindness and cheerfulness. Yet walking with her through

_ the Indian teepees, the writer saw children scamper away in

terror, being told by the vicious old women of the camp that
the “white woman” would eat them. The building erected
here by the church, with Government aid, is a capital one, ©
and it is to be hoped will soon be made a bearding school, in
time able to accommodate most of the children on the reserve.
The Government now generously gives $30 a year for each
child kept in a boarding school.

OFFICIALS,

So much has been said about Indian officials that the writer
desires to give his impressions, and for safety sake will only
speak of those he has met on his present visit here. The
agent, Mr. Lash, who has in charge Pi-ajot’s, Muscowpetung’s,
Pasquah’s, and Standing Buffalo’s Sioux reserve, was one of
Riel's prisoners at Batoche. He has been for years among the
Indians. The agent has rather a trying and unpopular place
to fill. Agent Lash has checked off a number of names this
year from the lists, which plainly should not have been on
them for years past. It is trying for anyone thus to do his
duty. He will receive criticism for it, but the Government
and the country will-thus be saved from imposition. Mr.
Lash seems to understand the Indian question well, makes 4

‘capadle and painstaking officer, and of course is greatly assisted

by his nearness to the headquarters at Regina. His amiable
wife, belonging to one‘of the best families of Ontario, is most
hospitable and a general favorite. Mr. Halpin, who was pre-
sent at the Frog Lake massacre, and one of the best Cree
speakers met, is a clerk in the agency office, and evidently has
his hands full. He is married. On the reserves visited are
two farm instructors. On Pi-a-pot’s reserve is Mr. McKinnon,
a Prince Edward Islander, who has been many years in the
country. His selection to manage Pia-pot’s troublesome band
shows the confidence reposed inhim, He is a shrewd, capable
and decided man, and has the upper hand of Pia-pot. With
Mr, McKinnon is a good officer, a clerk named Marling, be-

. longing to the -well-known-Toronto family of that name, On

Muscowpetung’s reserve the farm instructor is a young Scotch-

man named Macintosh, whose tact and ability are observable
at every turn. Both McKinnon and MacIntosh are married
men. The physician of the reserves“is Dr. Dodd, whom the

¥
=

— 53 e

writer accompanied, and who seems to have gained the confi~
dence of the Indians. -

THE FUTURE.

Every official met by the writer during this visit has seemed
the right man in the right place. With one exception they
are married men. It is said that this is the settled policy of
the Government in regard to all who have to live on the re-
serves. As one who has had a good deal to say on the Indian
question, the writer desires fo express his opinion that in the
western superintendency very great difficulties have had to
be met, but that patience and attention are gradually over-
coming them. To a gentleman well known to early Winnipeg
people, and with whom the writer has discussed the question,
Mr. Hayter Reed, belongs much of the credit for the system
that has been formed during the years since the disappearance
of the buffalo. Mr. Reed is a keen observer, a faithful official
and a man of high character. He seems to have a love for
the work of elevating the Indian. For the continued ad-
vancement of the system Mr. Reed is an indispensible factor,
and probably nothing would give such general satisfaction to
all parties in the territory as his elevation to the position of
Indian Commissioner. Itis but just to say that both in Re-
gina and on the reserves the Governor is regarded with the

greatest favor.

; . Our ndians.

iL.

THE FOUR RESERVES ON CROOKED LAKE
VISITED—-THE BEAUTIFUL QUW’APPELLE
VALLEY.

THE BEAUTIFUL QU’APPELLE,

What a grand valley! Everyone exclaims es he arrives on
the heights overlooking this western river. The prairie table
land is three hundred feet at places above the river bed. Great
undulating banks rise from either side of the stream, those
on the south side heavily wooded by forests of poplar and-elm;
those on the north bare and gray—an indication of the great
heat of the summer sun onthe southern exposure in these-west-
ern prairies. The Qu’Appelle is a small stream. winding with a
silvery line through the level flat of the valley. At times it
is so crooked as to remind one of the links of the Forth as
seen from Stirling Castle. It is to the enlargements of the
river in its winding course that the name “Crooked Lakes” is
given. The undulating heights on either side are exceedingly
grand, though perhaps somewhat monotonous. On the northern
side the bare, winding clay hills are not unlike those of the
Seine as seen below Paris, At une point of this part of the
Qu’Appelle is a settlement of French people, two of the set-
tlers, Taillefer and De Cazes, being well-known in Winnipeg
as having been in years gone by officers in the Provisional
Battalion. The residence of one of these families is peculiarly
beautiful; it reminds one irresistibly of a rural scene in
France. At the base of the hill is seen a white cottage. From
its front slopes gently to the river a preen plain several hun-
dred yards wide. For two or three hundred feet above the
cottage rises the gray hillside. Upstream from the house an¢
behind it in the coulee is a fresh green grove of our soft maple
It needs but the planting of vines along the hillside to mak:

— 55 —

the seene one of southeastern France. For twenty miles along
the south side of the Qu’Appelle in this part stretch the four
reserves included under the Crooked Lakes Agency. The re-
serves. run for ten or more miles to the south of the river, and
aremade up of whet are familiarly known on the prairie as
bluffs. Many lakes of clear, sweet water are interspersed, and
the appearance is not unlike that of a great English park. If
the gentle spirit of nature can ever soothe the savage breast it
ought tobe here. Some fifteen miles north of Broadview sta-
tion, on the C.P.R., we came suddenly on the encampment of a
great Cree chief. e

KA~-KEE-WIST-A-HAW.

His log-house and outbuildings are on rising ground, and are
surrounded by a- good crop of wheat and potatwes. But in the
summer, according to custom, an encampment is made on the
jower ground beside the lake, and we are fortunate to day for
the chief.is at home. The day is warm, and apart from his
tent, sitting in the shade of a cluster of poplar branches thrust
in the earth,.and on a large white robe of dressed ox skin, sits
the patriarch of seventy summers. As our party approaches
he rises and salutes us with the ordinary “How!” He is
above.six feet in height, and still straight as an arrow; has a
good face .of the ordinary Cree cast, ears pierced, hair long,
and is fairly well dressed in Indian fashion. He is.ane of the
four Northwestern chiefs taken by Col. McDonald to witness
the unveiling of Brant’s statue at Brantford last year. But
“ Elying-in.a-civele,” for sothis name means, is of distinguished
descent. His grandfather was a Cree chief of great mark.

He was-of such gigantic stature and great prowess that he bore ,

the name-among the Indians of the plains of “ The Eagle that
sits were he pleases.” He was known as the “.Ostenguide” by
the traders. He is most celebrated to us as-the great Cree

chief who signed the treaty with Lord Selkirk at Red River °

in 1817. Anyone looking up the.treaty as given in “ Morris's
Indian Treaties,” will.find his name there as Mache-Mkeosab,
or-as “.Le,Sonnant.” Among the Indians aswell as.whites it
will be seen that “:blood tells.” But “Flying-in-a-circle

having been liniited in his flight, must now get a “pass” when
” he wishes to leave the agency,; he has settled down with his
people to be farmers instead of buffalo hunters ; and his band

now: ecomprises.166-souls. iBut-we must basten on northeast —

°

—5B ~

of this point. Some ten miles away, and in the valley of Qu’-
Appelle, we meet

00-CHA-PE-WE-YAS,

. The significant name of this chief, who has the largest
band of the four, numbering 264 souls, is “ Strike-him-in-the-
Eye.” Even Indian names seem at times misnomers. Instead
of a daring and vindictive chief as one might suppose, “Strike-
him-in-the-Eye” bas a most insinuating manner, and even
made the suggestion to the visitors that a supply of provisions
and tea would not be wasted on him. It did not, however,
strike his visitors in that way, and the chief, who wore an
enormous fur cap, though the thermometer stood at 90°, ac-
cepted the refusal with becoming coolness. Perhaps the most
advanced band on the agency is that of Cowesis, or

LITTLE CHILD.

This band numbers 155, and-has at present no chieftain,
Little Child having died a year or more ago.. All accounts go
to show that he was a most intelligent and good Indian. An
old Indian official related to the writer, almost with tears in
his eyes, the virtues of this deceased ‘chief. Ue told of Little
Child’s desire to know the religion of the white man, of bis
going with him to service on several occasions, of the great
interest expressed in what he saw, and of his determination to
lead a good life. Shortly before his death Little Child was
baptized by the Rev. Hugh McKay, missionary of Crooked
Lakes reserve. The vacancy, caused by the chief’s death, has
not yet been filled, but pussibly O’Soup, the chief man of the
band, may succeed_to the office. Our party visited bis house
but did not see O’Soup himself. His house and farm are worth
seeing, and instead of being like those of an Indian, ‘suggested
the thought that they might belong to some one white enough
to be called O’Brien or O'Grady. His two large log houses, joined
together by asmaller, which served as a vestibule to both, were
clean, tidy and well furnished. A splendid field of wheat of

thirty or forty acres, and plot of excellent potatoes, showed the
-advance made by these retired buffalo huntets. The western

oor was not visited as being out of the way. It is under
ief :

. SAK-I-MAY,
or mosquito, On this reserve are 193 souls, Thus on the re--

— 57.
serves are living 778 Indians in all. They almost all live in
houses. These houses are distributed through the reserves and
are perhaps balf a mile apart. Some of them along with the
farms are in the valleys, others of the newer farms and houses
are on the prairie level or “bench” as it is called. During the
winter the people keep largely to the valley, for there much of
their hay is cut, and the neighborhood seems most pleasing to
ther. :

FARMS AND GARDENS, -

The great object of the Government is to turn the Indians
of the prairies into farmers. Amidst many difficulties it must
be said from a survey of these reserves that the work is ad-
vaneing. Oxen and implements are used by the Indians under
the direction of the farm instructors. One Indian, whose farm
was visited, had very nearly fifty acres of wheat. It was well
put in and presented an excellent appearance. It will prob-
ably yield between $00 and 1200 bushels of grain. If any-
one doubts the capability of the Indian he has but to see this
farm of a man who, ten yeare ago, lived by the chase, to be
convineed, Fields of from ten to twenty acres of grain be-
longing to Indians.are quite common on these reserves. A
special feature of the Indian farms is their freedom from goph-
ers Mauy readers may know that the gopher or ground
squirrel is most abundant in the Northwest Territories. At
the present time much damage is being done the fields of the
white settlers by this pest. On the north side of the Qu’Ap-
pelle river, oppusite the reserve, was a field of ten acres of
wheat, useless‘through the ravages of the gopher. The ex-
planation of the absence of the gopher from Indian farms is
that the Indian eats the gopher, and thus regales himself with
his savory dish and saves his crops. A hint to the white
settlers is sufficient! A careful computation shows that on
these four reseves there are 600° acres of wheat, barley, oats
and peas. One field of peas especially the ‘writer never saw
excelled. There were 800 bushels of potatoes planted on the
reserves this year, and there are not less than 15 acres of tur-
nips. The gardens of the Indians are more interesting. Not
unly to raise vegetables, but to learn their value and use indi-
cate a civilizing process. Beets, carrots, onions, Indian corn, ete.;
are in good condition. The gardens of the agent and sev-
eral farm instructors are in excellent order. Probably four or
five acres of gardens in all are to be seen in the reserves.

Po an

— 58 —
CATTLE, ETC.

_ As explained in a former letter, the Government encourages
the Indians in breeding catéle and other farm animals. A cow
is lent to an Indian on condition of its réturn, or its equiva-
lent, in two or three years. In this way the Indian grows a
herd of his own, and actually has gathered from six to ten in
some cases. The Government does not assist in raising herds
of horses, probably because of it leading in the direction of
the old life of the plain hunters. Every reserve, however, has
a plentiful supply of ponies. The following is a summation
of the farm animals on these four reserves given in the order
in which we have mentioned them. It is of course understood
that the animals belonging to the Government are for the use
of the band.

Cattle belonging to the Government—47, 44, 64, 32, total
187; cattle belonging to private Indians—4, 26, 68; 9, total 107];
pigs belonging to Government —4, 18, 2, total 24; pigs belong-
ing to private Indians—9, 30, total 39; ponies, private pro-
perty of Indians—20, 30, 66, 20, total 186.

EDUCATION AND RELIGION,

The inost of these Indians are yet pagans, Every year in
some part of the reserves the booth for the sun dance is erect-
ed, and these dances are attended by men, women and children.
This is a religious festival. It is cbnnected with certain cruel
rites, andjis under the direction of the medicine men, or priestly
class. There are a few Roman Catholics on one reserve, alsoa
priest and a teacher. The school is a day school, and has but
asmall attendance. The scattered character of the people
and the determination of the Government to isolate families
as niuch as possible, renders the ‘publie school house here, as
elsewhere, an impossibility. A couple of years or more since,
the Rev. Hugh McKay,’a missionary of the ‘Presbyterian
Church, took up his abode on the borders of these reserves.

He has already obtained a great influence over the Indians”

He had been for some time laboring in Manitoulin Island, and
had become somewhat familiar with Indian ways. Of a quiet,
decided disposition and a very kindly manner, he seems just
the man to jead the poor savages in the way.of truth. To

Mr. McKay belongs the credit of reaching what seems to be a

solution of the school question.

— 59 —
MC KAY'S SCHOOL
is already known far beyond the limits of the Crooked Lakes

reserves. Erecting a small mission-building, Mr. McKay took.

a few of the children into his home and gave them such ac-
commodation as he was able. Being himself a trained normal
school teacher, he soon got a good hold of the children, and
has in the short time of his residence gained a good knowledge
of Cree, Last year he obtained the assistance of Mr. Benjamin
Jones who has had much experience in the Northwest, and
whose wife, a sister to the late Methodist minister to the far
west, Rev. George McDougall, feels herself bound to carry on
the work in which her deceased brother fell. Messrs. McKay
and Jones fell to work with their own hands and made an
addition to their building a year ago which enabled them to
accommodate 33 pupils last winter. Encouraged by his suc-
cess, Mr. McKay appealed to the christian ladies of Ontario,
and the result is that $3,500 have been from different sources
put at Mr. McKay’s disposal for further addition. The addi-
tion will far exceed the original building, In two or three
months from now will be completed a

SUBSTANTIAL PILE OF BUILDINGS

in which fifty pupils can be trained, and the plans seem to
promise a most admirable building. Itis built on a deep stone
foundation, will be heated by hot air, and be a model school
in many respects. Mr. McKay began this work largely at his own
expense, his salary only being paid him by the church. Chris-
tian ladies in the Eastern Provinces have supplied clothing in
large quantities. The expense of keeping fifty pupils will be
considerable, and it is very pleasing to note that the Dominion
Government has been so impressed with the value of this ex-

periment that there has been an allowance of 330 a head for -

fifty pupils placed in the estimates for next year. Mr. McKay
is determined to persevere until he has an institution large
enough to hold all the school children on his reserves, say 120.
Extensive stables are being erected to show the young Indians
the proper care and management of cattle and horses.

THE OPENING

of the new building will soon take place, and as much interest
is taken in the school in the whole surrounding country, it 1s
expected to be an event of importance, The school js situated

( y S
x “Y
. .
5
%

%

— 60 —

at the eastern end of Round Lake, one of the lakes of the
Qu’Appelle river, and the view from the door of the school up
the lake is most beautiful. The good already done by the
school is surprising. It is now holidays, but on our visit to
several houses we saw. children well dressed, clean, and with
hair combed, and on enquiring found they had been pupils last
winter at the school. Stopping to ask our way at the house
of “Striped-Back,” a noted conjiror, a fine lad of thirteen came
to our assistance, well dressed and intelligent. Though his
home is the abode of superstition, and on the bushes and trees
about it were to be seen strips of cloth of various colors float-
ing as the offerings to the spirits, yet it is quite plain that two
or three years at “McKay’s school” will give him’a truer and
nobler faith. ~

La

THE OFFICIALS. ©. -

~~ One chief object of these visits is to see the officials about

whom there has been so much talk. On Reserve No. 1 the
instructor is Mr. J. Nichol, formerly instructor at File Hills.
He is from Wentworth county, Ontario, was brought up a

‘farmer, and is a young, active and suitable man. He had the

misfortune to lose his wife last year. Mr. J. Coburn on Re-
serve-No. 2 was the one not seen by us, He is a young mar- ©
ried man and has an excellent reputation. Mr. J. Sutherland
is instructor at No. 3. “He was for some years in the mounted
police. His wife is an excellent tailoress and can be of service
to the Indians. Mr. Sutherland himself is not only instructor
but can do blacksmithing, carpentering, and is acquainted with
the veterinary art. The broken plows and other instruments
brought in to be mended might have alarmed Vulcan, the god
of smiths himself, The instructor in No. 4 is Mr. EK. MeNeil,
a young Canadian farmer from the Ottawa. He has no wife,

’ but like the few remaining instructors unmarried, has received

his notice from the Government. He is a capable instructor,
and has the largest band. He will, no doubt, qualify before.
his time expires, so

THE AGENCY,

Tt would be Hamlet, with Hamlet left out were we to close
without reference to the veteran Indian agent, Col. Allan Mac-

_ donald, who has been a most valuable and popular officer in

originating the present Indian system. Old residents of Win-
nipeg will remember him as an officer in the Provisional Bat-

2 — 61 —

talion. Cul. Macdonald is a son of Archibald Macdonald, of
Glencoe, whom all acquainted with the Selkirk colony will
remember was one of Lord Selkirk’s most trusted agents, and
wrote a pamphlet with an account of one of the expeditions.
After forty years of service in the Hudson’s Bay Company he
settled at St. Andrews, on the Ottawa, in Lower Canada. Al-
though we found Col. Macdonald’s good wife away on a visit
to the East, the Colonel lives at the agency in good old Hudson’s
Bay Company style. He understands the Indians thoroughly,
is very anxious for the improvement of the Indians in all
respects, is a good friend to the missionary and the teacher,
and possesses the confidence of old and young on the reserve. It
' was a.pleasure to go on our long rounds through the reserves,
accompanied by the agent and his clever son Archie, a lad of
_.- ~-~twelve,,whojabbers-Cree-with-any-native-and- acted. as -inter-
preter... The official interpreter is an Indian from Oxford
‘ House, named Geddes, who gave us much information. The
agent's assistant is a most interesting young man named Mc-
Neil, from Prince Edward Island. His books, papers and offi-
‘cial documents were in capital order, and we gave them a
thorough overhauling. Our return was made to Broadview
in-a hurry to catch the west-bound train,.and if we dream to-
night of Indians and instructors it will not be surprising.

Ger ndians.

III,

THE ASSINIBOINES ON HURRICANE HILLS—
HUNTERS BECOMING FARMERS. :

INDUSTRIOUS INDIAN WOMEN.

The last few years have seen a great increase in the number
of Indian agents and other officials. Before the necessity of
having such close inspection of the Indians seems to have

_dawned on the Government, thé intention appears to have _

been to have a central Indian agericy for what now constitutes
the five agencies in this district. Indian Head station on the
C.P.R.—where the well known Bell Farm is situated —appears
to have been headquarters, and probably the fact stated is the
origin of the name. Around this point at considerable dis.
tances lie the four reserves of the Pia-pot group, the four re-
serves on Crooked Lake, the four reserves of the File Hills
Indians, the three reserves on Moose Mountain, and the reserve
for the Assiniboine tribe on Hurricane Hills. In former let-
. ters we have described the Pia-pot group under the supervi-
sion of agent Lash, and the Crooked Lakes agency under the
care of Col McDonald. Arrived at Indian Head it was deter-
mined to visit the Indians of the Assiniboine tribe” under
agent Grant. In company with a student of Manitoba Col-
lege, who is doing good service as a missionary to the white
settlers of Indian Head and vicinity, the writer started for a
drive of twenty mile or more to the south-east of Indian
Head The trip, taken in the fresh morning air, and.over the
fine rolling prairie, redolent with flowers, was delightful. . The
Jehu, in addition to being a good missionary, is a capital
horseman, and had himself broken in but a few weeks before
" the fine broncho mare, imported from British Columbia, which

carried us like the wind to our destination, Half way to the-

reserve was encountered at their residence on a bleak hill a
family which had-been sufferers. by the Glasgow Bank failure.

In former days they had been in the habit of going off to the ~

~y

ws

— 638 —

Mediterranean in their private yacht ; to-day they were about

to visit a point a few miles distant to gather Saskatoon her- -

Ties—the insipid fruit of the Amelanchier Canadensis. Mus-
ing on the ups and downs of life, we hastened on from the
prairie home of the lady related to the British nobility, to
visit on the reserves some of the original settlers—indeed, the
very “old families” of the~country. The agency reached we
received a very cordial welcome from Mrs. Grant, the wife of
the agent, her husband being absent in Regina on Indian busi-
ness. The assistant and interpreter, Mr. A. W. Taylor, a
young Englishman, the son of a clergyman in England, placed
pimselt at our disposal, and we drove three miles further on
€

INDIAN VILLAGES.

_We have seen nothing like this on any of, the reserves pre-
viously visited. Here within an area of perhaps a square mile
are the log houses—substantial erections capable of sheltering
the band which consists of 250 men, women and children. A
winding ridge is chgsen as the situation for the houses, and
the arrangement would baffle Hausmann, the great Parisian
engineer, or the original planner of the streets of Boston, to
discover. But here there are 69 log houses and 23 stables,
and it is to be presumed each one knows his own, though
there is no street nor number. The site of the village is at
this season rendered picturesque by the canvas tent pitched
in the neighborhood of nearly every house, for Assiniboine or
Cree must. take to his teepee in the summer time, however
much he may not disdain the shelter of the comfortable log

house in winter. As coming on a diplomatic mission we im-’

mediately drove to the teepee of the chief
. _ CHU-ICK-KER-NUCK-A-ARGO.

It is no wonder that for convenience sake.the English peo-
ple should choose a shorter name, but they have’ certainly
gone to the other extreme in addressing his chieftainship as
“Jack.” The translation of his Indian name is “The man
who took the coat.” We entered the teepee of the chief, and

found him sick. He is suffering at present with a severe at- -

tack of sciatica. Lying on a rug on one side of the tent he
was covered with a blanket, and the significance of bis Indian

name was not at-all evident, as he was “sans ‘coat, sans shirt, -

a

— 64 —
sans everything.” He had been rubbed all over by the medi-
cine men of the tribe with a mixture of white clay, but had
also received a prescription from the Government doctor.
Though it is dangerous to hazard an. opinion on an Indian's
age, | should think Chief Jack could not be much above 4U.
His two wives—sisters 1 am told—were in the tent ready to
fetch or carry at the behest of their lord.. An hour,or two af-
ter we bad an opportunity of seeing Chief Jack up and dressed,

-and he is a talJ, handsome Indian, with a good face of the de-

cided Sioux cast. As already stated, his band are
ASSINIBOINES.

Readers may be aware that the meaning,of the name is the
“ Sioux of the Stony river,” referring to the tributary of the

Red River so familiar to Manitobans. This river seems in old °

times to have been the boundary line of the Crees and the
Dakotas. But many years ago, before the coming of the white
men a fierce feud arose among the Dakotas, or allies as their
name implies. This took place on Lake Traverse, the .head-
waters of the Redriver. An Indian Paris stole a dusky Helen,
and the rescuing husband was killed in the tent of bis rival

“and in the presence of his faithless spouse. The tribe, the

Yantons, divided in consequence, and thus originated the As-
siniboines, who held the northern limit- of the old Dakota ter-
ritory. Always at deadly enmity with the remaining Dakota
or Sioux tribes, the Assiniboines or “ Stonies” as they are fam-
iliarly called, made alliance with the Crees, and numerous in-
termarriages have taken place between the Crees and Stonies.
Visitors who have seen the mission of Rev. J. McDougall at
Morleyville, some forty miles west of Calgary.in the Rocky
Mountains will remember that they are Stoneys, and that
they are so well acquainted with the Cree language that the
missionary can address them in that tongue, The Stoneys

are now. but a remnant ofa great people. At the beginning

of this century Alexander Henry, whose manuscript journals
may he seen in the, library at-Ottawa, gives a census ,of the

_ different bands of the Assiniboines and their places of residence

ulong the Assiniboine and Sackatchewan rivers, and shows
them to have numbered at that time several thousands.

. PECULIARITIES.
Like all the Sioux people they are a tall and handsome

race. Their faces have more shapely cut features, and are not

”

t
'

H

4

— §5 —

so broad or coarse as those of the Crees, Having been abso-
lute plain-dwellers they subsisted even more completely than
the Crees upon the buffalo. The present band formerly lived
in the Fort Walsh or Maple Creek region—the very heart of
the buffalo country. It has been a tremendous wrench, that
we whites can hardly appreciate, to give up the free life and
fresh buffalo meat, and settle down to the restraints of a re-
serve, and salt pork.as a diet. The writer is assured by the

Indian authorities that this tribe is dying off very fast. Un- |

der the cireumstances it can hardly be otherwise. We were
glad to learn on this visit that fresh meat is being supplied
this summer, The contractors are usually required to deliver
the beef cattle on foot on the reserves, and it is said that the
offal is more appreciated by the-Indians than even tenderloin
or Porter-house steak, This may improve their health, but
the prevalence of disease among the Indians is so common
that their

DEATH RATE

must be very high indeed. As to the question of the increase
. or decrease of the Indians a great deal is said apart from the
“facts. The statisties published from year to year in the blue
books are misleading because other elements enter into the
case. For example transfers take ‘place from one band to
another. The treaty payments also have developed cases of
fraud among the Indians. It is found that some bands have
been claiming numbers in some cases ten or twelve per cent
higher than the actual numbers of the band. Indians are said
. to have gone so far as to lend children to one another, on
whom to draw ‘treaty money. Under these circumstances,
perbaps imavoidable, it will be seen that to draw general con-
clusions from the figures of the blue books is quite valueless.
The change from their mode of life, their fondness for un-
wholesome food, their filth, disease and degradation, are in
the opinion of those most capable of judging, resulting in the
rapid dimunition of our Northwestern Indians. That a point
may be reached where the diminished remainder, christianized
and civilized, may, under happier circumstances, begin by and

by to increase is of course quite possible.
_ IMPROVEMENT.

That a certain amount of progress is being made on our
Indian reserves is, however, evident. On this reserve the

*

— 66 —~

houses seem well kept. Though unoccupied for the summer
they had been cleaned in most cases when their owners went
into the teepees for the summer. The chief's house was as
large and well arranged as an ordinary half-breed house on
the Red River. We unrolled a carefully fastened package tc.
find it a diploma from the Colonial Exhibition to the chief for
farm specimens forwarded from this reserve First prize
show tickets—a handful of them--for various articles given by
the local agricultural societies showed that Chief Jack is en-
terprising. The wife of the former teacher, Mrs. Scott, taught
the Indian women a number of useful arts. We saw excellent
bread—white and sweet—baked by the Indian women them-
selves. In one of the houses a commodious brick oven has
been built and this is freely used by the several families in

their baking. Butter is also made by the more thrifty of the
women.

KNITTING.

The most remakable feature of an industrial kind on this
reserve is the large amount of knitting done. Indeed for the
last year a sort of knitting epidemic has been upon the re-
serve. Like their Sioux relations, the Assiniboines are more
easily taught industrial arts than the Croes. Old visitors to
Portage la Prairie will remember how expert with the axe,
the hoe, and in general housework the Indian women can be-
come. But the knitting tendencies of these Assiniboines are
phenomenal. Even the “ braves,” deprived of their accustom-
ed journey on the “warpath,” bave settled down to knitting.
The contract for supplying the industrial schools throughout
the territories with mits and gloves was this year given to this
reserve. We saw about a bushel and a half of mits and gloves
all Knitted BF these Indians, inthe hands of Mrs. Grant, the
agent's wife. .They were of every variety of color and size.
Tn some cases the gloves had the fingers well formed, and all
that seems necessary for the Government to do is to furnish
the pattern, and the work will be done. In some cases we
saw yarn being used of a bright red color, dyed by the women
by the help of the roots of plants found by them on the prai-
tie. The Government buys the mits and gloves-at the rate of
twenty-five cents a pair.” S:ockings and scarfs of somewhat

complicated structure are also being made by these expert
Assiniboines, so . 7 of .

~

- _ 67
; FARMING.
The village system of this band is somewhat objected to as

unfavorable to farming. It seems easier to induce those liv-

ing, say, half a mile apart, to work than those living together.
{t is a considerable distance to the field, and the pleasures of
society are too great on a hot day to be resisted. However, &
good deal of farming is being done. A field of wheat of forty

' or fifty acres, the joint crop of four or five Indians, was cer-

tainly the finest field of grain seen on this western trip. On
this reserve there are 250 acres of land broken, and 205 under
crop, made up as follows: Wheat 77, oats 22, barley 16, pota-
toes +7, turnips 35, carrots 5, gardens 3. The crops looked
very well. * : .

CATTLE.

For some reason or other the Assiniboines do not seem to
take to stock raising so well as the Crees. The following are
the numbers on the reserve: Belonging to Government (for
the use of the band), oxen 14, bull 1, cows 8. Belonging to
the Indians themselves, oxen 4, bull 1, cows 9, steers 10, heifers
6, calves 10. ,

SHEEP &C

The only sheep seen on the reserves yet visited belonged to
this band. After the rebellion two years ago, the Government
rewarded the loyalty of “Jack” and his band by the present of
afew sheep. The sheep have thriven, and now number 31.
On a reserve still largely covered with bluffs, thus sheltering
wolves and foxes, and in an Indian camp with its countless
dogs, the life of a sheep is precarious. The Indians have, how-
ever, built a fine enclosure, into which the sheep are driven at
night, and even at noon. It speaks well for the care taken
that only two or three have been lost by dogs or wolves.
The sheep are in excellent health. Eleven pigs also hold their
own on the reserve, and it is to the credit of the women that
large numbers of poultry are kept. .

THE SCHOOL. N

‘

A short distance from the village is the log school ‘house,
and near it the teacher’s unpretentious residence. The’ con-
ditions of villiage life are more favorable for the carrying on of
a day school than’ on the otber-reserves, where, it will be re-
membered, we stated it was impossible to make it successful,

RS

—~ 68 ~

This band has only been five or six years settled here, the
children are quick-tempered and suspicious, and, according to
Indian custom, anything like severe discipline will be at once
resented. Our party visited the school. It has only been a
year and a half in operation. Jts present teacher is Mr. John
McLean, who is a capable teacher of 2nd class grade in Mani-
toba.’ There are 35 scholars on the roll) The average atten-
dance for the last quarter was 12. On the day of our visit
there were 14 present. For the time of berry picking and
gardening this is not a bad attendance. We heard the highest
class of two pupils recite. One of them, a Sioux boy of 12 or
14, read and spelt very fairly. The present teacher has been
for more than half a year in charge, and is obtaining an 1n-
sight into the ways of the Indian.

OFFICIALS,

Mr. W.S. Grant, the Indian agent, was, as already said,
away from home, From enquiry, we found him to be a capable
man, having considerable knowledge of botany, and seemingly
on good terms with the Indians. Mr. Grant is an Irishman,
and has lived a number of years in the London district in On-
tario. We were entertained most hospitably by Mrs. Grant,
and had opportnnity with our strong “prairie appetites” of
appreciating what can be produced un an Indien reserve. Mr.
A. W, Taylor, the assistant and interpreter, who accompanied
us and gave us every information sought, has been with the
Assiniboines since their settlement. We remindcd him that

we understood it was the Government policy that all officials -

Should be married men. He acknowledged that he had re
ceived such information from his superiors. It is the writer's
opinion that this should be rigidly insistéd upon. - Another
employee on the reserve as farm assistant we did -not see, but
he is a married man, We made the usual examination of
flour, pork and other government supplies given outas rations,
etc., and can speak most favorably of théin: = 7

pepe an eameteecapari ree marten mm ae

ur Cindians.

IV,

THE OJIBWAYS OF OKANASE--SAULTEAUX
WITHOUT FARM INSTRUCTORS AND RA-
TIONS--INDUSTRY AND RELIGION.

Going up the Manitoba & Northwestern Railway from Port-
age la Prairie for 106 miles, and passing Gladstone, Neepawa
and Minnedosa on the way, Strathelair station is reached. A
Hudson's Bay Company officer from the far north is with us,
coming to see an old friend settled in this part of the country,
and we are met at the station by the veteran Indian mission-
ary, Rev. Geo. Flett. Six or eight miles of a drive to the north
brings us to Stratbelair village on the Little Saskatchewan
niver. Here as the bank is reached a beautiful prospect lies
away to the north in a pleasant valley. The morning air is
delightful, and samid the sweet odors of prairie flowers and
scented grasses, it is a most captivating spot. The herbage is
_ Wonderful in its extent and verdancy. One is at a loss to

know why the Canadian Pacifie Railway was diverted from
this route, and old-timers are tempted to stand up for what
later explorers tell us is a myth—the existence of a fertile
belt, running away to the Norfhwest.- One of the best tests
of a 'good-locality in the Northwest is the plentifulness of

PRAIRIE FRUITS.

Here the abundance is surprising. The strawberries, though
earlier, are. prolific here as the settlers’ tables bear evidence.
The Saskatoon berries are past their best also; but there are
acres and acres of cherry trees. Three varieties of cherry are
found—the choke-cherry, a small red chetry, very pleasant,
and,a still larger red cherry. Black currants are plentiful and
of large size; the wild gooseberties are ripening. The bigh-
bush cranberries, or Pembina beriies, are found in abundance.
Here is certainly a garden of delights! The Rev. Geo. Flett,
some thirteen years ago, selected this as a spot for a mission,
as hé had several years before chosen Prince Albert among the

—70—

Crees near Fort Carleton. The mission premises and the In-
dian reserve are two or three miles up the valley from the
bend where the river is first reached. Through the midst of
the valley runs the Little Saskatchewan, or Rapid River, over
a pebbly bottom. It isa mountain stream rising in the Riding
Mountains ; its water is clear, cool and refreshing. In this
part of the valley is a vast expanse of grass, being made by
the Indians-into hay. On the further.side the banks are
heavily wooded by the ordinary trees of the country, though
at places traces of the fires of last year are seen. Within an

+ easy compass are here supplied the trio for supply of the wants

of man and beast—wood, water and hay. As we’ go up the
valley exquisite building sites appear among the bluffs and

woods in the western heights, and on approaching one of the

. most beautiful of these we learn that here is

. OKANASE, ;
the mission house for the reserve. Lying to the north of this
along the valley is the Indian reserve. The people are wood
Indians rather than dwellers on the prairie. They are Ojib--
ways, and we have seen their race on Georgian Bay and the
Manitoulin Islands; we have met them at Michipicoten and
along the north shore of Lake Superior; we have mingled
with them on the Rainy River and about the Lake of the
Woods. It was by coming westward in this course from Sault
Ste. Marie that these Indians got their name among us of
Saulteaux. Of course as in all cases west of Winnipeg there
is a Cree intermixture with the Ojibways. The band is said
to number 235, but this seems to include a number of hunting
families, which still roam through the unoceupied country to
the north, and now and then appear on the-reserve. Greater
efforts should be made by the Government to induce these
wanderers to settle. Perhaps 130 to.170 would represent the
real population of the reserve. The band seems all descended

. from one recent ancestor, and Okanase—-Ojibway for “bone” —

is the family surname. Accordingly on the reserve the diffi-
culty is as great as the endless repetition of Mackenzies and
Macdonalds in a Highland settlement. -Ethnologists who
make so much of names are warned to be on their guard here.
The missionary's assistant bears the family designation, and
retains the name, George Bone, which the writer saw him re-
ceive on his baptism ten years ago in Knox church, Winnipeg.
To the family of the oe

ey

—Ti—
CHIEF KE-SHE-KEW-E-NIW,

or Sky Man, has been given the honored name of Burns.
Another family of the Bones are now known as Ross. We
met another young man named George Flett, and soon. The .
Chief is a fine looking man, and is one of the last to receive
Christianity, though his wife and twelve children are sent
regularly by him to church, and his younger children to school.
We visited Sky Man’s house and found it a substantial log
house 18x22 ft., the roof and gavels well shingled, and this all
done in a workmanlike manner by the Indians themselves.
Thisis the new house; beside it stood the former house of
about equal size and still in good repair, which will be used as
a kitchen. The house is two stories high, and both ground
ard first floors are well finished with good lumber. A field of
grain of some five or six acres was near by, but the Indians
are moving their farms up on the “bench,” i e., the hilltops
above the valley, the ground being more fertile, and the grain
ripening earlier. According to Indian custom the houses are
almost all empty at this season, and the summer is passed in
the teepee or tent erected alongside the house, or in a camp in
the middle of.the reserve. As we drove through tu the upper
side of the reserve, the farm was reached of .

A FIRST CLASS INDIAN FARMER.

The owner was away from home, being: encamped with his
family alongside the meadow wheré we saw him, making stacks
of hay. His house is 20x18 feet, with an addition of the same
size nearly finished. The buildings are of log, with well.
shingled roofs, and all done by Indian labor. On looking
within they were seen to be plainly, but well furnished.
A cooking stove, box stove, tables, cupboard and dishes were
all there. A short distance from the house are the stables and
sheds of this careful farmer. His implements are well pro-
tected under cover; he owns 4 mower; we saw two pairs of
sleds for winter use, made by the farmer himself. The farm
consisted of 30 acres under crop, of oats, barley, potatoes and
turnips, with a good garden. Here the Indian farmer is seen
without the stimulus of the farm instructor. The large
amount of hay already in stack shows that cattle and horses
abound -én the reserve. The cattle are the product of two

" cows given some years age by the Government to the reserve.

Several pairs of oxen have also been provided by the Govern-

fa

.

ment. Being desirous of showing the condition of the In-
dians, the missionary had made arrangements for

Tee

AN INDIAN MEETING —

in the church to greet the visitors. The church is a neat
building capable of holding 70 or 80 people, is well seated, and
a few months ago the Indians on their own motion, in the ab-
sence of the missionary, erected around it a substantial paling,
with gates, presenting a neat appearance. The meeting was
held at six o'clock, and though the urgency of the haying sea-
son prevented a number of the men being present, the au-
dience, which ineluded a few whites, numbered between 50
and 60, and but for the busy season would have contained
twenty more. The singing at the service was in Indian. It

' was inspiring to hear the Psalms in Indian sung to “ Dundee’s

wild warbling measures,” or“ plaintifi’s Martyr's”; and to
listen to the men, as well as the women, singing with good
voices. An address was given through the missionary as in-
terpreter, which was received with attention. It was with
satisfaction the dusky audience heard their condition com-
pared with that of the Crees and Assiniboines, who had lately
been visited, and that the’white man had stronger. love than
ever for the loyal Indians, who had stood true to Canada in
the late Riel rebelllon. At the close, the Indian children pres-
ent, who were sitting in the front of-the audience, sang with
great sweetness and correctness a number of Moody and San-
key’s hymns, in English, .The whole service was conducted
with as much decorum and attention as could be seen in any

‘English-speaking congregation in the country.

a! ; DRESS AND APPEARANCE,

Té is well known that christianity changes the heathen and
makes them sit “ clothed: and in their rigbt mind.” The Pa-
gan Indian clings to his blanket as a mark of his heathenism,
and refuses to cut his hair. ‘We did-not see an Indian wear-
ing a blanket on this reserve. Men, women and children were
all well dressed. The Indian women make their own cloth-
ing, and are good knitters and workers. On approaching the
chuarch-the women had over their heads the black shawl so-
common, especially among the French half-breeds, but in the
church sat with uncovered heads, and were neat and comely.
The whole congregation would have passed for a respectable

half-breed gathering on the Red River. The appearance of
the people betokens good health. The scrofulous appearance so
common on the more western reserves isentirely wanting, The
writer was informed that there was an almost entire absence of
those diseases resulting in scrofula. The quiet respectful de-
meanor of the people was noticeable. On enquiry it was
found that there seems to be a small increase among the Ok-
anese Indians; but the deaths are so nearly equal to the
births, that the population may at present be set down as sta-
tionary. The past year has, however, been one of healthful-
ness, so that covering a number of years, and considering the
probability of greater death through epidemics, the case will
not stand so well.
EDUCATION AND RELIGION. ok

A short distance up the valley from the church is the Gov-
ernment school, a comfortable log building. The teacher is
Mr. Lauder, a married man, and he has for a year past held
this position. The wandering character of a part of the band
makes it impossible for a number of the children to attend
school. The attendance of the resident children seems fair.
During the past quarter there were 27 on the roll, with an
average of 19. In addition to the biscuit allowance, Mr. Lau-
der has given, through the means of a donation of a friend to
the school, Hour for breakfast and supper to those children at-
tending. During last winter something approaching the
boarding-school system was adopted in the case of a number
of children ; but both missionary and teacher are in favor of
a more extended experiment. Between this reserve, with its
wandering families, and the two reserves, of which we shall
speak, under Mr. Flett’s care, there are about 70 children of
school age. The proposal of erecting further premises, as was
done in the McKay school,.and getting in the children from a
distance seems the only one that can result in the general

+education of these bands. It being holidays we had no op-
portunity of sceing the school in operation. Reference’ has
been already made to the steady and religious character of
the people. The ringing of the church bell brings with great
regularity a good sized gathering at all times. The people are
moral and respectable. There is not a case of polygamy upon
the reserve, though as is well known, polygamy is the rule
rather than the exception in the reserves lately visited. The
writer heard of no.drunkenness on the reserve. The distance

ca
“ J :
we
~
ry
ne

—Th—

from any large business centre is a point in favor of any In-
dian settlement.
THE VETERAN MISSIONARY.

The missionary, Rev. George Flett, is well known to many
readers. His wife is the last. survivor of the children of the
late James Ross, whose family has been one of the most in-
tluential of the old Red River families. Both the missionary
and his wife seem equally adapted for their wok. He has a
knowledge of Cree and Salteaux, and French and English,
but is especially a master of the Indian tongues, and has great
-eloquence in their use. Many may remember that in the in-
teresting articles by Mr. Coldwell in the Winnipeg Free Press
Mr. Flett was-seen to have been a man of action. The In-
dian, to have influence among his people, must be “an orator.
From different sources the writer has heard that the mission-
aly Flett is ready in argument or debate, for Pia-pot or any
of them. An instance of this was seen two years ago at the
time of the rebellion. Mr. Flett was for six weeks among the
-Fort Pelly Indians keeping them quiet. One evening the
news came that the rebels had driven the English troops back,
and the story was in the most exaggerated form. One of the
chief’s sons gave the war-whoop, and cried out, “ Our people
have conquered the English soldiers,” and proposed to go on
the war path. The missionary rushed to the front and said
“What simpleton gave the war-whcop? Who will be fool
enough to go against the English? Why, the English, if one
party is killed, will send in another, and if these fall, another;
they will swarm in upon you. And they don’t need to be in
a hurry. They can seize the passes, keep out any food, and,
without shooting one of you, starve you to death like rats.
They have food and powder. They can wait.till you are all
dead and never fire a shot.” And, so on, with his native elo-
quence the loyal missionary was listened to rather than the
fiery braves. The missionary’s wife is helper of her husband
in translating the psalms and hymns, in leading,the singing,
and showing the Indian. women the arts of civilization. The
advanced state of these Indians has been gained with

NO FARM INSTRUCTORS.

The missionary has been interpreter, farm instructor, and fore--

man in building operations. .The father of the missionary was
an old Orkney settler on the Red River half a mile north of

rs

the railway track in Winnipeg. He had six sons, and old
* Red River settlers have seen these six sons mowing their six
swaths side by side with the scythe in the old days. Expert
in the use of the farm implement and the axe, the missionary
has instructed his Indians with the results named above.
. While being their Christianizer he has also been their civil-
izer, Thirteen years ago they were as wild and unpromising
as any band on the western reservations; to-day they are
what we have seen. The nearest Indian agent is forty miles
distant and he has a number of other reserves. The credit
must belong to the missionary. The Government has been
. saved the enormous expense that is being incurred further
- west. Here, too, the Indians are self-supporting. The church,
. it ts true,-has for several years sent large supplies of clothing
whith have been invaluable to the people in the “cold and
cruel winter,” but no Government rations are supplied, and
the pauperizing tendency is thus avoided. It is, of course, to
be remembered that here near the hunting grounds of Riding
and Duck Mountains the condition of the Indians has not be-
come so changed as further west ‘on the prairies where the
buffalo has become extinct.

NEIGHBORING RESERVES.

The two neighboring reserves of Rossburn and Rolling
River have been placed under Mr. Flett’s care. The wander-

. ‘ing character of the Indians is an obstacle to be overcome in
- these cases. The writer has seen for weeks past a consider-
abie part of the Rolling River Indians encamped on the out-
skirts of Minnedosa. There can be little: progress while this:
.“ _wandering habit is maintained. The missionary can gain no
“control over them. They come in contact with the worst of

‘+ the whites, and’ become utterly debased and degraded. It is
not for the writer to suggest a remedy. The Government is
responsible, and some steps should be taken to induce the
‘bands,.to remain at home. The churches are anxious to Chris-

- tianize and educate the Indian. This cannot be done so long

- as he is a rover. It is not enough that he is peaceful just now.
The Riel rebellion showed that in the ratio in which the In-

*- dians were Christian were they safe for the country: The
heathen or superstitious Indian is the plaything of every
schemer.’ The Rossburn reserve, which is 30 miles west of

. Okanase, is said to contain 170 souls, while the Rolling: River
. numbers 101. Thus there are connected with these reserves

°

— 76 —

some 500 men, women and cbildren, of whom a good nucleus
have been Christianized and civilized. This is the ground on
which the church and Government may co-operate most
heartily in the work of education, religion and civilization,

Fae

: Gur ndians.

La V.
THE SIOUX RESERVE ON BIRD-TAIL CREEK--
N OTES OF ADVANCEMENT.

THE INDIANS TAKING KINDLY TO THE CULTI-
“VATION OF THE SOIL--BEAUTIFUL BIRTLE.

— ee

Gentle reader, as the last century writers in their affection-
ate manner used to say, were you ever among the deep cut
valleys and’ picturesque coulees of Northwestern Manitoba ?
These are the Manitoban highlands! Here you have reached
‘the second great. steppe. Atter you have travelled the length
of the Manitoban_& Northwestern railway and reached this

point some 185 miles northwest of Winnipeg, you will. find’

yourself discussing with your fellow-passenger the compara-
tive merits of Minnedosa and Birtle valleys. Fourteen years
ago the writer was shown a vertical section of this region by
one of the early exploring engineers of the first Canada Pacific
railway, and these deep valleys of the second prairie level gave
it the appearance of a saw-edge. It was then said that it
would take'nine miles of a circuit to cross the Minnedosa val-
ley ; and this feature was given as a reason for diverting the
C.P.R, railway to the present southern route. But what the
Northwestern has lost in railway engineering it has certainly
gained in beauty. The Bird-tail creek, which has been soften-
ed ‘in the name of the town into Birtle is here narrow, but its
‘banks give a good climb of 150 or two hundred feet. Having

- clambered.to the eastern cliff let us turn and look at the picture °

before us.’ Up and down in the distance may be seen the heights

~ ofthe winding banks. On yonder high hill is the pretentious:
residence of a former member of parliament of the district. It -

has a considerable tower and on the top a flag staff from which
on festive occasions its master's banner . floated. The house is

somewhat falling to decay and i isa picture of deserted great- _

ness, “ Sic transit gloria mundi.” Further up to the right is
railway hill, while the station and other buildings are half a

oo *
oa °

1%

mile from town. Running through the valley is the small
stream, but here spread out into a fine sheet of water, reliev-
ing the scene and serving the useful purpose of driving the
mill, which soon will be hard at work in grinding the abund-

ant grain of Birtle district. Some of the buildings of the town:

are of stone, but most are wooden, and in some cases attention
has been paid to tasteful ornamentation. Two or three neat,
newiy-finished- churches give some indication of the hopes of
the town, while half a mile down the valley is the publie
school building of some size, whose location shows a desire to
give the rising generation plenty of exercise in reaching it.
Birtle has a number of very energetic and enterprising jnhab-

~ itants and they are justly proud of the town and its vicinity.

But we have a good journey before us to-day, and so, under
the kind guidange of Rev. W, Hodnett, who is an old inhabi-
tant of the district, we are soon on the way for some ten or
twelve miles to the

BIRD-TAIL sloUx RESERVE.

|The herbage j is most luxuriant ; the bluffs give a park-like

appearance; to the scene; we pass the ‘Blenheim school house,’

a dark painted and. “somewhat uncommon looking building,
which local Irishman described as the educational “simitery”

of the locality, and amid ripe wheat fields reach a beautiful
* sheet of water known as “Hooper's Lake.” This is a large

lake of sweet water, and as we refresh our ““Rosinante” from
its waters we see the fine sandy beach covered with a great
variety of pebbles, contrasting with the miry margin of reeds

* 80 common it’ the prairie ponds and lakes... A must delightful
‘ morning driye brings us to the reserve, which is situated at

the junction of the Bird-tail with the. Assiniboine. Here the

scenery is grand ;. yonder is the gréat Assiniboine valley, and
we can see the buildings adjoining the well known old Fort-

Ellice, near whieh the ‘Qu ‘Appelle joins the Assiniboine. The

“ confluence of the Bird-tail ‘and tlre Assiniboine lving several

hundred feet below us, is well wooded with soft maple and
elm, whose leaves give a beautiful contrast, The winding
coulees and ravines suggest localities for’ robber hordes or il-

“Tieit stills such as were once found in the Scottish Highlands,

but probably the travellers here aré not worth robbing, ‘and the
Indian is oot allowed to participate in the mountain dew. Here

is laid out 2 reserve of about one-thind ofa » township for the’.
~ band of (os

&

ar 5 . 2 , rd

— 79 —
SIOUX REFUGEES.

The Sioux, or.Dakota Indians are the most noted of the West-
ern tribes. They resemble the Six Nations of Eastern Canada
in appearance, and in ‘their confederacy. Christian mission-
".aries began work among them in Minnesota in 1835, and a
considerable number of them were christianized.. They were,
however, so savage as to have received the name “Tigers
of the plains,” and many a conflict between them and the Red
River half-breeds proved the title a true one. The American
Government did not keep faith with their Indian wards, and
in 1862 the terrible outbreak, known as the “ Minnesota Mas-
sacre,” took place, in which many whites were murdered, and
settlement checked in that State for ten years. The writer

remembers seeing in 1871 settlers’ houses and enclosures in”
Minnesota lying as they had been left in the year of the mas: °

sacre of thei: owners. After the.suppression of the outbreak
a number of che Sioax fled into British: territory. Much ne-
gotiation took place between the Hudson’s Bay Company
authorities in Red River and the United States, the permission
having heen at orie time given the Americans to follow the re-
fugees on British soil. This privilege, however, was never
used. In 1877 Sitting Bull and his band fled to the north
of the boundary line. Many of them were induced to return,
but a number did not. So that the refugees from the two
‘out-breaks remaining with us number some 2,000. They are
chiefly found at Oak River, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Fort
Qu’Appelle, Turtle Mountains and Portage la Prairie, and on
the Bird Tail reserve we are describing. In 1874 treaties were
made with the first named and last named bands and in Jater
years with others, at least so far as granting them reserves,
but no annuity is paid the Sioux band, The population of
this Bird Tail reserve is 135, and the Sioux possess 27 log
houses and 24 barns and stables, We drove around from
house to house and were pleased to see so many evidences of
civilization, Many of the families have given up the practice
of pitching a tent and living in it during summer, as so many
even of the most civilized Indians do. The houses are built
upon separate locations, and not in a village, as is the case with
their Assiniboine relatives near Indian Head. Beside each
man’s house is his farm, and the Anglo-Saxon idea of the land«
mark is fast gaining ground among these Dakotas.

waar)

— 80 —
FARMING.

The farming was most interesting. No farm instructor here
comes to incite the lagging or berate the lazy, but these Sioux
farm of their‘own motion. Our visit was paid on the 26th of
August, and almost all the wheat was cut and in stook; in
some cases stacking was going on. The thirty horses owned
on the reserve are sufficient for farm operations, and yet are
not'so numerous as to suggest the roaming tendency so pre-
valent among the western Indians) We found on enquiry
that there are about two hundred acres under cultivation on
the reserve, which would be an average of some seven acres
per family. Take one example, “Ben.” This Indian has
twelve acres under crop. His wheat is excellent and is partly
cut. We found his son busy mending his reaper. It was not
a self-binder but was serviceable. The young man bad mended
in @ workmanlike manner a difficult part of the woodwork of
the machine. The cooking stove outside the house was pre-
paring dinner, and after partaking of this, Ben junior would
attack-the grain remaining. The children were cooking before
the stove green ears of Indian corn of which a plantation was
near. Ben had also several acres of oats, potatoes and turnips.

STOCK RAISING.

The Sioux are found engaging in mixed farming and in this

. show themselves wise. The writer was not able to obtain the
quantity of stock belonging to private parties, as distinguished

- from that owned by the Government, But from the age
of the reserve and the industrious character of the Sioux, it
seems probable that most of the stock is private property.
It will be seen that this is considerable. There are on the re--
serve 43 cows, 52 oxen, and 35 young stock — making in all
130 head of cattle. Perbaps the most noticeable feature of
stock raising is the large number of sheep belonging to the
8 Sioux. There are no less than 87 sheep on the reserve. The
growth of sheep is perhaps one of the best indications of pro-
gress of an Indian band. The sheep need care and require pro-
tection from prairie wolves and the innumerable dogs that in-
fest an Indian settlement,’ The product of the sheep cin be
utilized in many ways. The large flock of this reserve destroys
what used to be'a treasured belief of the western plains that
sheep could not be reared in the. Northwest. It is a sugges-
tive cireumstance, which no doubt the watchful ethnologists

a

— §] —

who see connection between the Indians and the lost Jewish
tribes will note that there is not a pig on the reserve.

RELIGION,

The good seed which was sown in Minnesota by the devoted
missionaries, Williamson and Riggs fifty years ago has borne
a bountiful harvest among these Dakotas of our Northwest.
The Sabbath is well observed, daily worship is maintained in
many of the houses, and the people have a comfortable church.
A belfry in front of the church, which is 32x18 feet, makes the
church a prominent object on the prairie. This enterprising
band have lately added a handsome harmonium costing $80 or
$90 to their ‘church, and are exceedingly fond of sacred music.
A young Sioux named Thunder, now employed in the Indian
office, Birtle, who has been away at school and has learned to
play the organ, makes his journey every week to the reserve
to lend his aid. The minister of the reserve is Rev. Solomon
Tunkasaiyice, a pure Dakota, ordained in the United States.
He cannot speak English well, but is an adept in his own
tongue. Solomon of the unpronounceable name makes oc-
casional journeys to the wandering bands of his countrymen
at Moose Jaw and Portage la Prairie. In his absence several
of the elders can lead the service, and at present a young stu-
dent of Manitoba College, Mr. Macdonald makes a fortnightly
visit to the reserve and speaks through an interpreter. Solo-
mon, the minister, had but returned before our visit, and is not
in good health. ,

EDUCATION,

The school is under the care of Mr. Burgess, who for severa
years has been on the reserve, and is now becoming well versed
in the Sioux language. The reserve though not very large
has the dwellings so scattered that the distances come by a
number of the pupils are considerable. The number of child-
ren on the roll is 27, and the average is 11. Mr. Burgess had
the good fortune to receive one of the four prizes offered to In-
dian schools for the satisfactory condition of the Bird-tail re-
serve school. Mr. Burgess is respected by the Indians, and is
of much use to the Indians in helping in their church service.
Mr Burgess is unmarried and lives on or near the reserve.

MR, MARKLE'S AGENCY.

The writer has been living for some weeks within the agency
under the care of Mr. J. A. Markle. Mr. Markle has his house

Be

ee “oy

— 82 —

and office in Birtle, In the office is a clerk, Mr. William Gra-
ham, son of the late Indian agent, Mr. James Graham, who was
well known to older residents in Winnipeg. The office seemed
to present the appearance of good order, and all information
sought was cheerfully given, There are eleven bands in the
agency. It does not seem easy to keep such close supervision
as in the western agencies. The heavy expenditure on Indian
affairs no doubt forbids the increase of officials beyond the pre-
sent staff. But it must nevertheless be said that unless the In-
dian can be kept on tis reserve there is little hope of civilizing
or christianizing him. Mr. Markle has a good reputation in
the Birtle district, and seems obliging and painstaking.

IS THE INDIAN DYING OFF?

This agency seems to supply some facts on this question. Of
the eleven bands in the agency three have increased very
slightly during the past year, the total being 13 of an increase.
Six have decreased seriously, making a total of 65. Three
bands have been stationary. Now this is on a total of some
1,790 Indians, so that, on the.whole, of the eleven bands there
is a decrease in population of about 8 per centin a single year.
Even the civilized Sioux of the Bird-tail reserve have decreased
23 per cent. As formerly noted there is in these statistics a
disturbing element in the fact that changes take place from
one reserve to another, yet taking the area of a whole agency
the error is probably very slight. The Sioux do not seem to
be a robust race, and are like the Assiniboines of Indian Head
in their tendency to fail before the white man. But in a
number of the bands there is no difficulty in finding out the
cause. IJmmorality lies at the root of the evil, In the
bands ‘north and north-west ot Birtle the loathsome diseases,
too disgraceful to be named, which are prevalent tell why the
red man is fading away., Christianity is the only agency that
can arrest the evil, The white man has brought his vices
among the Indians, he is bound to supply to him the gospel
which alone can make noble, free and pure.

Ove (ndians.
va

{

VI.

THE BRAVES OF FILE HILLS—A. TROUBLE-
SOME CHIEF STRIKES WORE-~-ISSUE
OF RATIONS STOPPHD---A POW-
wow AND ITS-RESULT.

Sympathetic reader, may it never be your lot to make a
prairie journey behind a “shagganappi” pony. Some may
not be aware that this term is applied to the Indian or half-
breed horses, which are used in all parts of ou. wide prairies.
The name is protably got from the “shagganappi,” or tough
home made leather used in harnessing these ponies. But for
tardiness, trickiness, insensibility; and obstinacy not even the
proverbial donkey can surpass a “shagganappi.” The pony
has strange habits. In starting, a “balking” experience is
guite common with bim; the snail like motion then indulged
in cannot be quickened by force, for the pony is-said by those
who know to be encased on the whip side in cast Iron—he is
certainly a pachyderm. When a “slough” or swamp is being
crossed the pony often Hes down in the mud for his own de-
lectation and to the disgust of the driver. When remonstrated
with the pony is exceedingly ill-tempered, and will often strike
with his front foot an unexpected blow. So with driver armed
with a dangerous looking whip the writer started one after-
noon from Fort Qu’Appelle to visit the File Hills Indian re-
serves. The driver at once entered into a colloquy with the
pony, laid down the principles to be observed, and immediately
began to Jay on the whip vigorously. Up the steep banks of
the romantic Qu’Appelle we painfully strove, and sought to
make our 20 miles before.dark. The belaboring which the
pony received was terrible. Everything, however, failed’ to
increase the speed, above four miles an hour. At length the
reserves were reached, and the writer accepted the hospitality
of the agent, whose wife was an old acquaintance. ,

— 84—
THE FILE HILLS RESERVATIONS

lie £0 miles to the north of the C. P. R., and are reached by
starting from Qu’Appelle station, which is 312 miles west of
Winnipeg. The reserves are four in number, and form a block
made-up of four parallelograms. The Indians here are plain
Crees, who are being domesticated slowly, and though they
are learning much seem rather wild and intractable. During -
the Riel rebellion these Indians were a source of great anxiety
to the Government and were probably very near revolt, though
along the very line of march of the troops from Qu’Appelle to
Batoche. The four reserves bear the name of their chiefs—
Peepeekesi’s, Star Blanket, Little Black Bear, and Okanese-—
the Jast named being absent at Turtle Mountain at the time
of our visit. The condition of the crops and of the herds of ..
cattle and the number of the horses were much the same as
those in the other reserves. Next morning after arrival we
were soon abroad to the school, which had an earlier session

- than usual that we might see it. Nine scholars appeared ard

were put through their exercises by Mr. Toms, the teacher.
Our stay was too hurried to ascertain the ordinary condition
of the school. Mr. ‘l'oms seemed doing his best under rather
discouraging circumstances. The bands are widely scattered,
and to a large number of the children it is an impossibility to
reach the day school. It is understood that the church in-
tends erecting buildings and organizing a more complete
school on these reserves next year. On our return to the
agency we saw

RATIONS DAY

in full operation. Here, as in most of the reserves of the Plain
Crees and Blackfeet, the Indians gather at the agency twice a
week or so and receive supplies as regularly as a regiment of
soldiers. On this occasion an ox was being slaughtered, and the
hungry crew, en, women and children, were all present to
observe the whole operation. Squatted on the ground, ur sit- °
ting on the gathered logs near tha agency in their crouching
posture, swathed closely round with their blankets, they sug-
gested the idea of a flock of hungry and patient crows waiting
their time to fall upon the prey. The gusto with which the
offal was seized and set aside by the spectators for further use
would somewhat disgust the esthetic soul. No sooner had

. the animal been slaughtered than the varcase was divided up

—~— 83 —

among the four bands in proportion to their numbers. But .

there was sorrow in one band for
STAR BLANKET GOT NONE,

As we returned from cur morning educational trip we saw
being carried in a wheelbarrow into the storehouse the portion
for this disappointed band. Mr. Agent Wright, who had been

‘appointed to the position but a few weeks before our visit, had

explained on driving to the school that there would likely be a
scene to-day. Star Blanket had been ordered by the new
agent to plough fire brakes around the stacks of hay his band
had- made, as prairie fires were beginning to appear. This work
the chiefhad evaded. Due notice had been given the day be-
fore that “ No work, no food” must be the motto.~ Star Blanket
is a daring, self-confident fellow, evidently ready at any time
for a fight. It was plainly a trial of strength with the new
agent to see who would rule on the reserves. Hungry and
sulky Indians with their squaws and papooses were hanging
about, suffering for Star Blanket’s obstinacy. The word was
passed around soon that

A POW-WOW

would be held in the office. The writer was made a sort of
honorary member of the court and sat at one side of the table
with the agent and clerk. Thirty or so of the chief men of
the four bands crowded the office, and most of them squatted

on the floor. Facing the tribunal, among the Indians, sat-the--~

old half-breed interpreter. The Indians were invited to speak.
An aged sagamore ‘arose and said they would say nothing if
they might not tell all As it was yet only in the morning

the agent informed them they might tell all their grievances

even before the stranger, They need keep back nothing.
Some half-dozen spoke and their addresses, though exemplify-
ing different kind of oratory, were to the point and well de-
livered. Even through the medium of the interpreter it was
plain to be seen that for diplomatic skill and independence
we had yet metno band equal to the File Hills Indians. The

hero of the occasion was of course the hungry chief, and so we.

' only give the leading points of
STAR BLANKETS GRIEVANCES,

He began by saying, “Some of us will go home without
anything to eat to-day.” Further reference was made to the

Ss

ae

‘ atom!
“
a

fact that in their fields no potatoes were yet ready. A vener-

-al statement was hazarded that last winter some children and
‘old people of the band had famished for want of food. He re-

lated specific instances when the “long and dreary winter”

had proved too much for the women, and referred with path-

etic ardor to the good days when the buffalo were black upon

the plains, and the Indians were contented. Every allusion

to the need of food found a most feeling response from an ugly,

rather crafty looking, old Indian, who, we learned, was the -
leading spirit of the begging brigade. Star Blanke}, however,

made his points well. He is a medium sized. slight built In-

dian, but as he spoke with blanket girt tightly around his

loins, and his prominent breast bare, his appearance was most

striking. His ready uttérance, flashing eye, and well-timed

gestures marked /
_ " & NATIVE BORN ORATOR.

. The agent quietly brought out the facts of the chief's refus-
al to do what was most reasonable, and the matter being re-
ferred to the visitor who posed as a sort of associate presiding
officer it was easy to show that.the chief was in the wrong.
As to the charges of starvation they were resolved into the
cases of certain persons who had died from consumption in
the previous year. But as the rations had been regularly
given to their friends the charge‘seemed not sustained. The
chief then spoke again. He took a wider range. He claimed
a part of the land at Fort Qu’Appelle. The Government had
promised farming implements to each family. Turning and
pointing to the samples used by the Government for compar-
ing new supplies, which were fastened on the wall, Star
Blanket.said the saws, and the augers, and the axes, and the
hoes, and so on had been given only to a few. Hach sort of

. implement formed the subject for a paragraph. It was quite
. plain that this sort of speech might be made after the model

of the song with a thousand verses. In reply to all this,
“ Morris’s Indian Treaties” was turned up and the treaty read.
It was pointed out that the Government had three times over

_ exceeded the promise of the treaty. But each was, of course,

of bis own opinion still. ,
_ . ‘THE DIFFICULTY on,
was at length solved by the chief agreeing to have the fire brake
ploughed around the stacks. As soon as this should be done,
which would not take more than three or four hours for the

g
— 37 —

young men to accomplish; then the beet would be delivered.
But the chief demanded that he be allowed to visit the
Governor at Regina to make complaint of the harshness of the
agent. He was informed in reply that he cuuld have a pass
to leave the reserve for that purpose whenever he wanted it.
Thus ended, after a struggle of some three hours, this affair.
The writer was much impressed with the skill and outspoken-
ness of these prairie diplomats.
THE AGENTS.

A special opportunity was thus given of seeing the difficul-
ties of the agents, and of reflecting how trying the situation
must have been during the rebellion of two years ago. The
former agent, Mr. Williams, was hardly successful with these
File Hills Indians. The writer, however, never saw hini, and
simply speaks from hearsay. The present agent, Mr. W. F.
Wright, has been known to the writer for several years. He
and his amiable wife will be kind to the Indians. Several in-
stances were incidently come upon where in cases of the aged
and sick they had followed out their humane instincts and
given relief. Were all the Indian agents as charitable and
thoughtful of their poor wards as the same people would be
towards the poor and suffering in town and city, how greatly
would the dying Indians be blessed. And why not? The
agents and their families are not merely Government officials,
They may he angels of mercy to the unfortunate perishing
redmeu. Agent Wright held his own in the contest with quiet
firmness and good temper. The journey was resumed to Qu’-
Appelle, and atter further painful associations with the “shag-
ganappi” the Fort was reached.

CONCLUSION,

Our wanderings among the Indians are ended for the pres-
eut. We have seen them in every variety of circumstance
this summer They are very degraded in most cases still.
But much more attention is being paid to them, both physical-
ly and mentally, than formerly. Well directed effort has borne
its fruit already. There is hope for the Indian, but it is chief-
ly through deuling with the young. The day school is a, fail-
ure. Boarding schools alone can accomplish the work. If
both the Government and the churches give their best thouglit
to the subject the poor Indian may in time be civilized and
christianized.

‘THE END. | Deere.